


Runaway (Run Towards)

by Streetlamp_Sunset



Series: Don't Know Why You Runaway [1]
Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Alexis Rose Being a Good Sister, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Blow Jobs, Canon Queer Relationship, Everyone Needs A Hug, Face-Fucking, Families of Choice, First Time, First Time Bottoming, Found Family, Hair-pulling, Lesbian Stevie Budd, Love, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Mutual Pining, Overstimulation, Slow Burn Stevie/Twyla, Smut, Timeline What Timeline
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:40:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 23,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24589228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Streetlamp_Sunset/pseuds/Streetlamp_Sunset
Summary: David is sitting on the floor of his new apartment, drinking with Twyla, Stevie, and Patrick when he realizes he has no idea what he’s doing. David accepts Patrick’s offer to help with the business side of Rose Apothecary and look over his finances. This leads Patrick to make an important discovery or two.David is the one who ran away to Schitt’s Creek while Patrick lost his home and wound up there. The Rose’s never lose their money and everyone ends up exactly where they are supposed to be.
Relationships: Alexis Rose & David Rose, David Rose & Twyla Sands, Patrick Brewer/David Rose, Stevie Budd & David Rose, Stevie Budd/Twyla Sands, Theodore "Ted" Mullens/Alexis Rose
Series: Don't Know Why You Runaway [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1779964
Comments: 33
Kudos: 148





	1. I Want to Believe Again

**Author's Note:**

> Fic and Chapter titles from Noah Ried's song Runaway.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter: David finds out his parents are responsible for the success of his gallery, Sebastian is the worst, David checks into the motel, and Stevie takes David to the vet.  
> Next Chapter: David has lunch with Stevie, does some yoga, and goes shopping with Twyla.

David had made the mistake of ordering Twyla’s Meadow Harvest smoothie exactly once. She’d hovered, big doe eyes and expectant smile; she reminded him of a younger Alexis.

“Hmm,” he’d commented, grimacing as he forced himself to swallow, “you can really taste the .. meadow.” The rest of it was dumped into the potted plant beside his booth as soon as Twyla’s back was turned. That was his first morning in Schitt’s Creek; he still hadn’t managed to find anything that was more than moderately edible. Thank god for Stevie, who had warned him away from the tuna melt. 

“You’re responsible for calling Ronnie about the plumbing if you choose to order that,” She’d stated before dropping her french fry with a look of disgust. They were somehow both dry and freezer burnt and she kept picking them up out of habit while they talked. 

Honestly, Stevie was responsible for most of his sanity these days. Weeks ago, in New York, David had overheard a conversation between his father and their family’s business manager, Eli. From what he had pieced together, his parents were responsible for all of his gallery’s sales, not trusting him to succeed without them. 

“The sorrow in your aura is transcendent,” had been Sebastian’s response to David’s revelation. “I think it would be really powerful if we explored that physically.”

After, David lay on his mattress feeling sticky and hollow. Sebastian was already redressing. Evidently, they had been in an open relationship for about a month and Sebastion needed to go meet another partener. He leaned down to kiss David goodbye; David’s hands went cold. 

“This has been prolific, but this feels like the natural end of our journey,” Sebastian hummed. “I would love to do a series of you like this.” He ran a hand over David’s thigh. “I’ll have to rethink where to show my art, of course,” Sebastian continued, “Authenticity is very important to my brand.” He squeezed David’s hip and walked out the door. 

David’s stomach turned. Cultivating a creative environment of his own had been the motivation behind Rose Gallery; he hadn’t even managed that. He needed space, needed to find somewhere his family wouldn’t bother to look for him. Not that it was particularly difficult to escape their attention. His mother was off shooting a soap somewhere and Alexis only ever called if she needed something. 

He’d almost forgotten about the town, but it definitely fit the criteria. No one who knew David Rose would believe he’d voluntarily chosen to reside in a town called Schitt's Creek. He himself had thought the deed was a joke when he got it. He knew that Alexis and his mother had too, and with any luck his father didn’t remember gifting it to him in the first place. Not that he was entirely sure what owning a town entailed. 

“You’re a Schitt?” Stevie asked skeptically when he’d tried to explain at check in, briefly pausing her game of solitaire.

“I’m sorry, what?” David asked, clearly offended. She was the first person he had met after finally arriving in Schitt’s Creek around sundown and stopping at the only hotel-adjacent lodging he could find.

Stevie seemed unfazed by his posturing, “You know, a Schitt.” At David’s raised eyebrow she elaborated, “Roland Schitt, Jocelyn Schitt, Mutt Schitt.”

“Are those supposed to be people?” David asked, hands fly as he gestured. Then, his brow furrowed further, as if it had just occurred to him he whispered, “Mutt Schitt? What kind of name is that?”

“He’s the Mayor, Roland’s, son,” Stevie answered, glancing at the computer monitor and sliding a stack of cards onto another. “ I figured you must be related to them.”

“No, David clarified. “I just own the town.”

“Which means what exactly?” Stevie asked. According to a quick google search, it didn’t mean much. It was a mostly symbolic, if unusual title, typically associated with excess land ownership. David’s deed, it seemed, was just a piece of paper, a seat on the town council, and a few other bureaucratic logistics he didn’t fully understand. “Huh,” Stevie said as he finished reading the summary of search results. 

David sighed, “This might be a stupid question, considering the state of this town, but what are my suite options?”

“Here at Schitt's Creek Motel we offer a wide variety of room options,” Stevie answered.

“Do you have any king suites available?” David asked hesitantly, hoping that it wasn’t sarcasm and by some miracle this town had some measure of luxury accommodation.

“You have the choice of a single room with a full bed or two twins,” Stevie said, “I could book you in the honeymoon suite, but I feel compelled to tell you that while it has a queen bed it does come with a truly horrific ceiling mirror situation.”

“Over the bed?” David asked, face paling.

“Over the bed, Stevie answered, nodding.

“Oh my god,” David cried, running a hand through his hair in one jerky motion, “The full will be fine.” David slid his card across the counter, glancing around the office. A fresh new horror awaited in every detail, “I don’t suppose there will be a bellman?”

David dropped his last suitcase at the foot of the bed, huffing and panting. He had been forced to pack essentials, bringing only what could fit in his SUV. The rest of his things would arrive in boxes when he had somewhere more permanent to store them. This shack masquerading as a hotel was certainly not that. He pressed the door shut, locking it and sliding the deadbolt over for good measure. David sat slumped at the foot of his bed, cradling his head in his hands. He fell backwards with a dramatic huff. The mattress was lumpy and a spring dug into his shoulder. “Oh my god,” he grumbled in disgust. 

He sat up, as much as he wanted to wallow, his sweaters couldn’t be left in their travel cases for much longer. He had already been forced to compromise their safety to an uncomfortable degree to save space. He also needed to explore the rest of his rooms and order some room service. He opened the only other door in the room to find a cramped dirty bathroom. “Oh my god,” he gagged, spinning away to wrench open the closet door. He slammed it shut. His sweaters would be better off in their travel cases. With growing trepidation, he picked up the phone, dialing the line for the office. 

“Can I help you?” Stevie asked in a slow, amused tone.

“I’d like to order room service?” David requested. He pulled one of his bags onto the bed, rooting around for his pajama set.

“There’s a cafe on main street,” Stevie offered, “Is there anything else I can help you with?” 

“An extra towel?” David asked, almost desperately after remembering the state of the bathroom. 

“Can I get you anything else?” Stevie hummed, inexplicably amused with David’s distress. 

“From what I’ve seen so far I sincerely doubt it,” David sniped. Stevie promised to bring him that towel, laughed and hung up the phone. 

* * *

“Stevie?” David asked, noting all the dog posters on the walls. “Did you bring me to a vet clinic? As in a hospital for pets? Because that would be very incorrect.”

“You, in fact, demanded I bring you here,” Stevie reminded him, prodding him up onto the exam table. “David,” she sighed, “You told me you thought you were having a heart attack.” Before he had the chance to address the disturbingly sincere turn her tone had taken, the door swung open. “Hey, Ted.”

“Right,” David hummed. His head was still a little swimmy, but he managed to glance up at the vet, Ted apparently. Unfortunately, he slipped forward with the motion, almost tipping off the pet sized exam table. It would be comical if he hadn’t been painfully sober ever since his pills ran out a week ago. 

“Whoa,” Ted said. He caught David easily, large hands sliding along his arms to brace him firmly. David had felt unsteady all morning, ever since he went to dispense his in-person purchase only moisturizer and realized nothing was coming out of the bottle. The general store felt it was appropriate to keep rat poison next to the cereal; he sincerely doubted any local retailer carried a comparable product. “You okay there, bud?” David managed a nod.

The vet smiled wide and soft as he squeezed David’s shoulders and stepped away. “The table’s not exactly built _fur_ people,” Ted laughed at his own pun, seeming unbothered with appearing cool. It was just enough to calm David when Ted reached for his stethoscope and asked him to breathe. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading; let me know what you think!  
> ❤️ Sunset


	2. I Talk to Myself All Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter: David has lunch with Stevie, does some yoga, and goes shopping with Twyla.  
> Next Chapter: Patrick breaks things off with Rachel, David and Stevie have a spa night, Alexis calls to check in, and David has a very important meeting at Ray's.

Stevie, who was clearly not his friend, despite the milkshake she’d bought him, decided to bring more people into this, “Twyla, please tell David that panic attacks are a very real condition and he needs to do something about it.”

“What I need,” David shot back, “is to find a local boutique that carries high end hair and skincare products before I’m driven to a 2007 Brittney moment.” 

Twyla was nodding and moving to lean against their table before Stevie was halfway through. She set a sympathetic hand on David’s shoulder. Her innate compassion still shocked him, despite spending multiple meals a day in her general vicinity, so he tried to ignore the inevitable grease stains Twyla was leaving on his sweater. “It’s true David, it’s very important to take care of your mental health. My Aunt’s cousin’s stepson’s biological father got me into yoga and I lead a class every weekend. I’ve found that it really balances my energy. And for what it’s worth, I think you’ll age very nicely. You just have one of those faces, you know?”

“Thank you, but that is very incorrect. This -” He gestured to his face, “is the result of a carefully curated process I have taken years to perfect.” He turned back to Stevie, “The heart attacks will pass once I find acceptable replacement products.”

“Well, I’m not sure they’re exactly what you're used to, but some of the farms around here do really nice things with goat milk. I could show you if you’d like,” Twyla offered, “Or I’m teaching a class tomorrow morning. It’s very relaxing; you could come if you want. You too, Stevie. It’s in my boyfriend, Mutt’s, barn.” 

He shot a look at Stevie right around the word goat milk which meant he caught the way her face dropped at the mention of the barn. David was relieved; he was beginning to think Stevie wouldn’t back down. He wasn’t entirely used to people pushing him who had his best interest at heart. It made it slightly more difficult to tell her to swallow broken glass the way he would with Alexis.

“Hmm, I don’t know if any barn-based activity is right for me,” David replied, mentally encouraging Stevie to back him up. Unfortunately, he did not account for Stevie’s love of fucking with him, because her whole face lit up.

“I actually think that would be really good for you, David,” Stevie argued, “Maybe you should try yoga before you go check out those products, just to be sure you don't have another heart attack.” She shot him a smug grin, before stealing the pickle slice off his plate.

“So that means you’ll come then, Stevie?” Twyla asked eagerly. Stevie’s face went through a very complicated journey, before shifting quickly back to it’s usual state of apathy.

“Sure Twyla, we’ll be there,” Stevie replied. She nearly inhaled her burger when Twyla had to dart away to help another customer. The food here was not  _ that  _ edible. 

“Okay.” David opened, gesturing up and down towards Stevie as she pointedly avoided eye contact. “What exactly was all of that?”

“That, as you put it, is my face,” Stevie answered. David opened his mouth, but Stevie flicked a stray onion at him before he could speak. “Drop it, David.”

As a result, David met the infamous Jocelyn Schitt over the course of a deeply intimate, deeply traumatic morning in her son’s barn. Despite his initial reservations, the yoga itself was somewhat calming. Evidently, Ted also described him to Jocelyn as precious, so that was something.

“You fell asleep on Joselyn,” Stevie argued on the drive back to the motel. 

“I did not!” David insisted, “I was merely resting my eyes.” Stevie was one to talk, she had spent most of the class laughing and roughhousing with Mutt.

“The yoga was relaxing then?” Stevie asked, glancing over while they idled at a stop light.

“It was,” David confirmed. He tapped out a short rhythm on the dash. 

“Good,” Stevie said. David reached out and squeezed her shoulder. They rode in a pleasant silence the rest of the way back. 

A few days later David opened the door to his room to find Jocelyn standing on his doorstep holding a large, domed tupperware, “Can I help you?”

“Good afternoon David,” She grinned, “I just thought I’d drop by. You got me thinking after our little chat the other day.” She politely shoved the tupperware towards him until he was forced to take it. 

“What's all this?” He asked, trying to peel back the lid.

“Coconut cake from a little bakery in Elm Grove,” Jocelyn explained, rooting around in her purse, “Rollie picked it up for my birthday. Unfortunately, I’m very allergic to coconut, break out in a terrible rash. I thought you might like it, seeing as you’re struggling so much with your current predicament.” 

“How generous,” David said, “Was this secondhand cake the only reason for your impromptu visit or?”

“Oh, no, here,” Jocelyn said, handing him a few sheets of paper, “You have a seat on the town council, so I thought you should have the agenda and the minutes from the last meeting. Rollie put together a little schedule for the next few and Ray included his business card, but you’re welcome to stop by city hall any time, of course, Mister Town Owner.”

“Mmm,” David responding, “And this whole sheet of business ventures would be Ray’s card then?” Jocelyn nodded. “What an excessive use of comic sans,” David remarked. “I’ll be sure to look it over.” He set the stack of papers on top of the tupperware and began to pull the door closed. 

Jocelyn’s smile softened, “Have a good rest of your day, David.” She gave his arm a light squeeze before backing away to climb back into her truck. “I hope we see you around!”

“Bye then,” he said, closing the door the rest of the way. He set the cake on the table. He adjusted the cake so it was more center. He sat on the foot of the bed, got back up. David let out a sharp sign; he didn’t know why he was feeling so restless. Surely he didn’t want Jocelyn to stay. He pulled out a fork and sat down with the paperwork. 

One of Ray’s many, many business ventures was in real estate. From what David had gathered there weren’t many promising real estate opportunities in Schitt’s Creek, perhaps it would be beneficial to enlist the help of a real estate agent. He checked the time; Twyla was picking him up soon, but he had time to make a quick call. Unfortunately, David would soon learn that Ray was incapable of making quick conversation. 

“No,” David was reiterating when there was a knock at the door, “I am confident that I would not be interested in renting the live-work space in Bob’s garage. I promise you I do not need to see it first.” He opened the door to find Twyla. “Ray, do not put it down as a maybe. Ray? Ray!” Twyla laughed and pointed at her truck before climbing back into the driver's seat. “I’m hanging up now,” David said, gesturing widely, even though Ray couldn’t see him. Ray continued to detail his weekend plans. Apparently, he was in his cousin-in-law’s wedding this weekend, whatever a cousin-in-law was. He sighed, “See you then. Bye now.” 

He locked the door behind him and climbed into Twyla’s passenger seat. She handed him a cafe coffee cup and pulled out of the motel lot. David brought the cup to his lips tentatively, humming happily when he tasted his coffee order down to the dash of cocoa powder. “This is my coffee order,” he said, surprised.

Twyla laughed, “I know, David, you’ve ordered it multiple times every day for almost a month. I’ve got it down to a science now.” She reached over to bump his arm playfully, “You can be kind of particular, you know?” David felt a rush of affection for Twyla. No one had bothered to notice the things he liked in a long time.

“Well, thank you,” David said, cradling his coffee in his lap. He almost felt guilty. He had all but demanded she show him where he could find products to replace those he had run out of. Not only had she offered to take him shopping herself, but now she had brought him coffee she knew he would like. 

David was mildly surprised when the first farm they pulled into looked like something right out of a period novel. A woman was literally churning butter. Apparently, they were Mennonites. Or country witches, if Twyla was to be believed.

Either way, he was wary of putting anything in his mouth until Twyla laughed, not unkindly, "They wouldn't put a hex on their own products, David, try this." She held a sample far too close to his mouth. Taking a delicate step back he brought his hand up and hesitantly popped the peanut butter square in his mouth before he could change his mind. His eyes slipped closed for a moment. He didn't care if it was poisoned; it was so good. 

The taste reminded him suddenly, sharply of Alexis. She had gone through a whole desert bar phase when they were teenagers. They didn't speak much by then, really only running into each other in the kitchen in the middle of the night. David had the staff make new kinds every week until Alexis lost interest. He pulled out his phone and shot her a quick text, berating himself for not checking in more recently. He couldn't remember if she was on or off with Stavros. She didn't always answer when they were firmly together; Davis usually got a panicked call in the middle of the night when things fell apart. 

Twyla noticed him frowning at his phone and tugged him along to check out some of their masks and moisturizers. David bought some of their masks to use on his spa nights with Stevie and after a moment of consideration added a few bags of the peanut butter squares. 

The next farm didn’t have much in the way of actual products, but he did find a beautiful carved jade facial roller and some horse hair makeup brushes. He glanced over to find Twyla admiring a piece of their handmade jewelry; it was an arm cuff made out of thin strands of textured gold. It didn’t immediately strike him as something Twyla would wear. She must have felt him watching, because she set it back down. 

“Isn’t it beautiful? My mother’s cousin’s daughter was obsessed with jewelry making one summer and gave me this really lovely twisted ring for christmas that year. We were just kids then and I wore it until it didn’t fit anymore,” She ran her hand along the matching earring set, “I could never afford it, but I love to look at what they can do.” 

“It is,” David said distractedly, “beautiful.” Twyla smiled and moved on to talk with a friend from Elmdale she had spotted across the room. David picked up the piece Twyla had been admiring. He had never had to think about what it might be like to not have money for the things he wanted. It made an unfamiliar sadness and guilt flood his stomach. David had just been thinking about what a good friend Twyla had been, but he hadn’t even considered what it cost her. Gas and coffee cost money, but she had just offered them, like it was no big deal, when she couldn’t even justify nice things for herself. David thought of Stevie, the rundown motel, and all of the things she'd done without expecting anything in return. 

While Twyla was still occupied with her Elmdale friend, David brought the cuff and the earrings to the checkout alongside the beauty tools he had picked out. When he was done, he slid up alongside Twyla, “Ready to go?”

“That looks yummy,” Twyla said, peering over his shoulder at the next farm. 

“Oh my god,” David said, making a face. “It’s not for drinking,” He gestured at the bottle and then back at himself, “This is body milk, for your body.” Otherwise, Twyla had been correct, David really loved the goat milk products on this farm. Between this one and the first David had found most, if not all of the products he needed. They stopped at a couple more farms anyway, so David could get to know the area better. His earlier musings about money still on his mind, he bought a soft, handmade flannel for Stevie and a jar of raw honey for Jocelyn.

Twyla was happy to let David choose the music as they drove back to Schitt’s Creek, “Anything but the playlist George uses in the cafe.” He turned it to a pop station  Stevie had vetoed; they rode back laughing and singing along. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading; let me know what you think!  
> ❤️ Sunset


	3. But It’s Hard to Say Anything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter: Patrick breaks things off with Rachel, David and Stevie have a spa night, Alexis calls to check in, and David has a very important meeting at Ray's.  
> Next Chapter: David oscillates, David thinks about Patrick in the Shower, Ted's going away tailgate party, and David makes a phone call or seven.

“You’re a bastard, Patrick Brewer,” Rachel yelled, sound echoing through the Elm Glade Community Center from the direction of the Bridal suite. Ray glanced nervously at Rachel’s brothers. A crash sounded from the same direction.

“I’ll just go check on that, shall I?” Ray suggested to the rest of the groomsmen. Patrick threw the door of the bridal suite open, heading outside. Rachel slipped out behind him towards the reception space, tears on her face. Well, that certainly didn’t bode well. They had been just about to start the rehearsal dinner when Patrick asked Rachel if they could talk. Ray followed him outside. “Patrick?” Ray asked, wringing his hands, “Are you alright?”

“I, Uh,” Patrick ran a hand backwards through his hair, clasping at the back of his neck, “I called off the wedding. I didn’t tell her why. I just couldn't do it, Ray,” Patrick paused to take a ragged breath. Ray had long suspected Patrick wouldn’t be happy in any marriage with a woman and he was very glad Patrick hadn’t gone through with it. Patrick dropped his hand and set his shoulders, “Could I stay with you for a few days until I find a place? I could ask Mom and Dad too, I wouldn't want to put you out.” The Brewer cousins were all raised like siblings, so when Patrick’s older cousin married Ray’s sister he was folded into their family as well. They had practically grown up together. 

“Nonsense,” Ray said, “you can use my spare room as long as you like.” Patrick and Rachel had invested their whole nest egg in a beautiful two story in the states, counting on the income they would soon receive from the jobs they had lined up there. Now, Patrick would have no job, no place to live, and very little savings. “I can hire you as a business consultant. I’ve had quite a few new opportunities open up since you last came for a visit and I could always use more help with filing forms and the like. You know how terrible I am with paperwork.”

“Thank you, Ray,” Patrick said, sincere, familiar smile back in place. 

“Of course, Patrick,” Ray said, “What are cousin-in-laws for?” Patrick laughed. He gathered his things, set his guitar in the passenger seat of his car, and followed Ray home.

* * *

David got home from his trip with Twyla to find Stevie lounging on his bed eating pizza out of the box and scrolling her phone. A second box was perched on the TV stand. He set his purchases on the side table and grabbed a change of clothes from a suitcase. 

“Come on in,” David said, moving to the bathroom to change, “make yourself at home.”

“You did request room service so,” Stevie called through the door, “I’m fulfilling my duties as a responsible motel employee.”

“Mmm,” David said, exiting the bathroom to recline on the bed beside Stevie. “Would we call it that?” He pulled a slice out of the box and reached for the remote. Stevie scooted over, laying her head on his shoulder. They flipped through the channels until they landed on The Princess Bride. 

An hour later they had polished off both pizzas and a bottle of wine. Stevie took a swing out of a second bottle. “Hold still,” David ordered, reaching out to apply a clay mask across her t zone. They sat cross legged on the bed, facing one another. He had already applied his and set a timer. Stevie rolled her eyes, but stilled.

“Are you planning on unpacking any time soon?” She asked, gesturing to his line of suitcases with the end of the bottle. 

David grimaced, “The closet space leaves a lot to be desired.” He smoothed down the front of his sweater subconsciously. Stevie’s face lit up, mask cracking slightly around the edges. She clambered off the bed, bouncing on the edge slightly.

“Come with me,” She said, reaching to pull him off the bed. David groaned and followed her. She whipped open the door to the honeymoon suite, tripping over the threshold slightly. “If you won’t be too lonely,” Stevie teased, “I thought this could help.” 

“Oh my god,” David said, eyes drifting from the heart shaped headboard to the mirror above the bed, “do people have sex in here?” 

“Nobody has sex in here unless they’re being paid for it,” Stevie responded, making her way over to the overly large closet. “If this isn’t too dirty for you, I thought this might be a good place to store your clothes.”

“Is this a safe place?” David asked, rubbing the soft cuff of his sweater between his fingers.

“Yes, David,” Stevie said, rolling her eyes, “I'm the only with a key.” She grinned, “But there's a catch.” David shot her a wary look. “I get to wear whatever I want, anytime I want.” 

“Fine,” David said, a reluctant smile creeping onto his face. He caught his reflection in the mirror and nearly did a double take. David almost didn’t recognize himself and not because he still had his clay mask on. He looked calm in a way he didn’t usually feel when he drank, posture relaxed, arm wrapped loosely around Stevie. His smile was wide enough to reach his eyes. He didn’t even mind that it was causing small cracks in the mask; he looked truly happy for the first time in a long time.

* * *

“Long night?” Twyla asked, setting his coffee down. David lifted his forehead off the cafe table with a groan. Sunglasses firmly in place, he took a large swallow of the drink before turning to Twyla.

“Remind me never to drink with Stevie again,” David grumbled, fork reaching for the pile of scrambled eggs. He had one hell of a hangover and worse, an appointment with Ray later that morning. 

“And how is Stevie?” Twyla asked, moving to clear the table next to his.

“She was still sleeping when I left,” David said, “so I assume not being viciously assaulted by the sun.”

“Oh!” Twyla said, “I didn’t realize you two were an item, congratulations David.” She glanced in his direction; the silverware she had been gathering clattering back to the table. 

“Ew! No,” David said, watching her gather them back up. “We’re not together. Stevie was just too drunk to drive home.”

“Oh,” Twyla said, blushing. "That’s very responsible of you two. Once in high school, Mutt told me he would was going to walk home from a party at the quarry, but he was so drunk he couldn’t remember where he lived and the next morning he woke up in Mr. Hokey’s barn with no pants and no memory of how he got there.”

“That seems very on brand,” David said as she walked away to serve another customer. He jumped when his phone began to ring; it almost never made noise. He had do not disturb on with the exception of set alarms and calls from Alexis. “What?”

“David!?” Alexis squealed on the other end of the line, “Oooh, wait, I’m going to face time you real quick, you need to see this woman’s hair.” She promptly hung up. David answered the incoming call only to be confronted with a truly blotchy home dye job.

“Huh,” David said, “reminds me of the summer in Scotland when you let that bartender give you a perm.”

“Ew, David,” Alexis whined, “It does not.” She flipped the screen back so it showed her face. She was pouting, but she looked hydrated and moisturized: quintessential happy Alexis. Twyla appeared at his shoulder to switch out his breakfast plate and mug for a to-go cup of coffee. Alexis’ eyes shot up at Twyla’s apparel, mouth twisting into a smile. David was clearly nowhere near a city if that was what servers were wearing. “I am loving that side braid for you,” Alexis said, “very country chic.”

Twyla’s hands jumped up to run down her hair, “oh, um thank you -”

“Alexis,” she offered with a little wave, “I’m David’s much younger, much prettier sister.”

“Twyla,” she introduced herself with a wave of her own. “It’s nice to meet you, David has said so much about you.” David blushed, maybe he had shared one too many stories about his sister, especially after yesterday.

“Oh my god, Twy, that is so sweet,” Alexis said, bringing a hand up to swat at the camera like she could swat David’s arm through it, “David! Have you been talking about me?” Before he could respond, she carried on, “We need to like, exchange numbers, so you can fact check before you talk to any press first tho.”

“Oh, um,” Twyla said, “it’s really just an expression.” She gave Alexis her number anyway; David shooed her back to work before Alexis could extract more information.

“Where are you anyway?” Alexis asked after she had gone, “Mom and Dad said you closed your gallery and left New York. Tell me you did not give up that little apartment, it was so cute in a retro artsy kind of way. You know how hard it is to find places with character in this market.” He had, but Alexis wouldn’t understand. She had never felt the pressure to step out from the life she had been handed and make something for herself.

“My new apartment has a wealth of character,” David assured her, thinking of the framed sailboat oil prints, floral curtains, and mismatched wood in his motel room. 

“Ooo, yay David,” Alexis said, punctuated by little claps. She launched into a detailed explanation of what she had been up to the past few months with Stavros, twirling her hair when she talked about how he had briefly left her in Switzerland to attend a party on the other side of the world, “Uggh, I was fine, David. He came back. He wouldn’t have just left me there, I still had all of our bags and stuff.” David finished up his meal, trying to nod in all the right places, and began the walk to Ray’s. “Mmm, David, I have to go, Kelsey is trying to get with this cute surfer boy and it is not working for her. She’s so desperate, it’s really very sad.”

“How selfless,” David said, but Alexis was already ending the call. He entered Ray’s to the sight of a very confusing sportsball themed photo shoot. He tapped Ray on the shoulder, “I'm here to look over available rentals. We had an appointment?”

“Oh, that's right,” Ray said. He handed David a ticket, B13, and called up the stairs before turning back to the couple, “Patrick!” 

“Uh, this is for you,” David said, handing it to the man who had walked around the corner. He was handsome, despite the truly hideous lack of personality in his clothing, with dark eyes and a warm smile.

“Patrick,” he said, holding out his hand. 

“David,” he replied, uncharacteristically nervous. David hurriedly wiped his palm across the ribbing on his jeans before sliding his hand into Patrick’s. He shook it like a completely functional, normal human being who was not struggling to remember what he should be doing next. Patrick let go of his hand. Oh, right. Handshake.

“David Rose, you’re looking to buy a house,” Patrick said, guiding him towards a desk.

“Rent. I’m looking to rent a property, actually,” David corrected. He had been very clear with Ray on the phone that he wasn’t ready for that level of commitment.

“That's still a big deal,” Patrick said, pulling a file out of the cabinet in the corner.

“Is it?” David asked. He had rented dozens of apartments all over the world. None of them felt particularly momentous.

“Yeah, it's pretty big,” Patrick said, “You know, putting down roots.” David hummed noncommittally. Patrick handed him a stack of paper; they were apartment listings. “You wanna have a seat?” David slipped into the chair. “Alright, David,” Patrick said, taking a seat behind the desk. He tapped the edges of the paper so they lined up, “let's get started.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading; I live for feedback!  
> ❤️ Sunset


	4. I Feel More Articulate Now Than I Did Yesterday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter: David oscillates, David thinks about Patrick in the Shower, Ted's going away tailgate party, and David makes a phone call or seven.  
> Next Chapter: Patrick, Stevie, and Twyla help David move, Patrick comes to an important realization, and David invests in his town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: explicit sex

Patrick pulled out a spreadsheet detailing the features of different properties, “So, why don't we start with what style of home you're looking for?”

“Oh um, I'm oscillating between a few different styles at the moment,” David said, pulling his sweater over his hands “so if we could just come back to that one, that would be great.”

“Sure, sure,” Patrick said, moving to the next category “Give you more time to... oscillate. Um, where are you living now?”

David tapped on the arms of his chair, “Okay, so I'm currently staying in a motel, and it would be very incorrect if I based any creative choices off of my current living situation.”

“Yeah, yeah, for sure. We'll swing back around to it. Battin' a thousand here, David,” Patrick grinned, dropping the spreadsheet momentarily as he glanced up at David.

David frowned, fiddling with his rings, “I don't know what that means.” 

Patrick laughed, and despite his rude disposition, David felt his body flush with warmth at the sound, “Hey, here's an easy one. A brief description of what you’re looking for.” 

“Um well, I’m, um, looking for an apartment in general, but I also have a very specific vision,” David said, punctuating his words with his hands.

“Huh,” Patrick pressed his lips together to keep from outright laughing. 

“And also I’m not looking for just any apartment,” David said, “it needs to be like, a place where I can come home and exist in my own space. Um, or host people, but it's not austere, nor is it cluttered.” 

“Okay, so we're pretty clear on what it shouldn't be,” Patrick said, grinning as he set the papers down completely.

“Yeah, I’m trying to cultivate an environment,” David continued, because apparently he was incapable of shutting up and Patrick didn’t feel the need to stop him, “Um, and I guess I’ll need to have specific material things, but I’m looking for more of a feeling like, more like an immersive experience.” David didn’t know exactly how to put it into words, the way his old apartment in New York was so, so hollow, even as he filled it with expensive things. It made him feel so fucking lonely. 

“Right, I love the buzzwords, David,” Patrick said, eyebrows raised in amusement, “but I do want to narrow this down here.”

“Okay, you couldn't use anything I just said?” David said, feeling defensive; he’d practically barred his soul just then.

“I'll tell you what,” Patrick said, “Why don't you take these home with you, and look them over. Just give us a call when you have a... a clearer idea of what you want.”

“Okay, um,” David said, “I do have a clear idea.”

“Oh!” Patrick said, “you've settled on a style, then?”

“Um... you're either very impatient, or extremely sure of yourself,” David huffed. 

“I threw you a bit of a change-up there, huh?” Patrick asked, retapping his little stack of papers into neatness. 

“Yeah, again,” David said, “I don't know what that means, I don't play cricket.” 

Patrick laughed and set something on David’s copy of the listings, “Look, take this, it's my card, and I feel like you will need it.” David couldn’t believe he was attracted to this very rude, very smug man. Actually, he could, being attracted to people who were mean to him was very on brand.

“Uh, you know what, I think I'm good. Um, so thank you for this,” David said shortly. He stood, taking the pile of paperwork with him.

“It's nice to meet you, David,” Patrick said, that smug fucking grin on his face.

“Yeah,” David said, closing Ray's door a tad too hard on the way out. 

When he got back to the motel there was a sea of boxes piled on the sidewalk and a very amused looking Stevie. “What happened to you?”

“Ugh,” David groaned. He had forgotten they would arrive today now that he was renting the honeymoon suite for storage. “I don’t want to talk about it,” David groused.

They spent the better part of the afternoon dragging boxes into the suite and stacking them along the walls. David collapsed on the bed, bringing his arm up to cover his eyes. “I’m not moving,” David said when Stevie poked him in the armpit.

She flopped down next to him. “Are you going to tell me what happened this morning?” David put his arm down and opened his eye a crack. 

“Some guy at Ray’s accused me of not knowing what I want,” David said. It was easier to talk like this, make eye contact with Stevie in the mirror over their heads.

Stevie snorted, “Well I know that’s not true.” She shoved his shoulder lightly, “I have never known someone with more opinions.”

“Maybe I didn’t explain my vision thoroughly,” David said, eyebrows scrunching thoughtfully, “He used sportsball metaphors, Stevie.” She laughed at him; David grinned despite himself. Stevie was bitter and rude; she teased and laughed at him constantly. But it was all very fond. David had never been close with his family, but Stevie felt like what family might if he had.

“I think maybe I’m the one who told myself I didn’t know what I want,” David admitted to the ceiling. Stevie reached over and took his hand. “The motel is temporary,” David said, “People don’t live out of motels. I mean, can you imagine?”

“But an apartment is more permanent,” Stevie said, fingers stilling where they had been playing with his rings. “You’d be choosing to stay.”

“Yeah,” David said. She squeezed his hand; he turned his head to face her, “I am staying, Stevie.” From the expression that crossed her face David got the impression that not many people had chosen Stevie either. “This is my town after all,” David said, bumping her shoulder playfully. 

“Schitt,” Stevie said with a wry grin. An alarm on her phone went off, saving them from any more feelings. “Twyla’s going to be here any minute.” David groaned; he had forgotten about Ted’s going away party. Twyla was coming over to get ready with them and then Mutt was picking them up when his shift was over since his car was the best choice to abandon in a field overnight. Evidently, his truck also could hold kegs in the bed, which David had been informed was a crucial component of a tailgate party. “Go shower, you stink.”

“Rude,” David said, climbing to his feet. He grabbed a change of clothes and headed to his bathroom.

David blamed his erection on the workout. He had heard that was a thing that happened sometimes. It had nothing to do with Patrick. He closed his eyes and imagined the way Patrick would laugh if he were there.

“Sure, David,” Fantasy Patrick said, leaning on the bathroom wall with his arms crossed. David began to stroke himself slowly with a soapy hand. He was still wearing the blue button up and mid range denim from earlier. Patrick smirked, “blame the workout.”

“That,” David panted, gesturing to his clothes with his unoccupied hand, before bringing it back to his chest, “is not an attractive outfit. What the fuck.” David dragged his hand through his chest hair, pinching and rolling a nipple as he increased the pace of his strokes. 

“I could take it off,” Patrick said, already reaching for the top button.

“Mmm,” David moaned, “you do that.” A naked Patrick appeared in the shower before him. “Hey there,” he said. Patrick grinned, running a hand down David’s side, landing on his hip.

“Hi,” Patrick said. He nodded at David’s dick, “want some help with that?” 

“Yes,” David gasped, moaning when Patrick’s hand closed around him, the other coming up to brace against the shower wall beside his head. Patrick ducked his head and began sucking a line down David’s neck. His hand on David’s cock was tight, the strokes steady and controlled. “Your mouth,” David gasped, “so good.” Patrick grinned, taking his hand off the wall to play with the hairs at the back of his neck. Patrick grabbed a fist of his hair and tugged David into the position he wanted. Patrick’s mouth found the spot under his ear that made his knees wobble and sucked hard. He nipped David’s throat lightly. “I need it on me,” David moaned, fucking his hand.

“My mouth is on you, David,” he said, trailing to suck and bite at David’s shoulder.

“Suck,” David gasped as Patrick added a twist to his upstroke, “suck my cock, Patrick.” Patrick grinned, lowering himself to his knees in the shower. David moaned brokenly as Patrick leaned forward to kiss and suck on his inner thigh. He reached forward and ran a hand through Patrick’s hair. It looked like it would curl if he grew it out and further. Patrick leaned into his hands allowing David to guide him towards his dick. Patrick’s hand stayed on David’s cock, stroking firmly, even as his mouth came forward to suck at the head. “Fuck, Patrick,” David said. Patrick took away his hand, laughing softly at David’s whimper. Hips stuttering as the sensation went away for a moment. Patrick brought one hand up to David’s hip, thumb rubbing firm circles into his hip bone.

“I’m right here,” Patrick said, cap of the body wash clicking closed. He brought his mouth back to David’s cock, swallowing him down. He couldn’t take him all the way but he brought one hand up to stroke at the base of his dick. “So good, David,” Patrick hummed and David’s hips jumped, fucking his mouth lightly.

“I want you inside me,” David said, reaching for the hand on his hip. He brought it back to his hole, “want to feel you.” Patrick pulled off his dick for a moment to look up at him. He jerked him loosely with his hand.

“I’ve got you, David,” Patrick said, before sinking back down onto his cock. David felt soap slick fingers begin to circle his rim. He moaned when two entered him, thrusting with the same controlled pace on his cock.

“More, Patrick,” David whined, “Harder.” Patrick hummed, vibrations on his dick pushing him closer to the edge. His fingers crooked until they found his prostate. David gasped, bucking back and forth between Patrick’s mouth and his hand. Patrick rubbed his prostate with firm circles. He glazed up at David. God, he was pretty. David was so fucking close.

“Fuck, David,” he panted, “fuck my mouth.” David groan, bring both hands forward to fuck the warm, tight suction of Patrick’s mouth. A third finger entered him and he moaned, aching pleasantly with the fullness. “Come on, David,” Patrick moaned, pulling back to suck at the head, “Come down my throat.” David’s head slammed back against the title, hips stuttering as he came in Patrick’s mouth. 

David slowly opened his eyes, fantasy Patrick fading away. He slid his fingers out of his ass, cum washing down the drain. David laughed, turning to drop his forehead on the tile. “Fuck,” he said to the wall. Of course he would be attracted to possibly the straightest presenting man he had met in Schitt’s Creek thus far. 

When David came out of the bathroom Stevie and Twyla were sitting on his bed, apartment listings scattered between them. Stevie shot him a knowing look. 

“We were beginning to think you had drowned,” she said. She and Twyla had both showered in the suite bathroom, gotten dressed, and started looking through listings before they heard the water shut off. David turned his attention to his closet to hide his blush and flipped her off over his shoulder. 

“Hi Twyla,” he said after he had selected his sweater for the night.

“Hey,” Twyla said, glancing up from the paper she was holding. She was more dressed up than David had ever seen her, wearing a flowy floral dress. Her strappy sandals sat on the floor at the foot of the bed. Stevie was in a clean t-shirt and jeans, at least, but she hadn’t bothered to take off her converse before clambering all over his blanket. Okay, so he was changing his bedding when they got home tonight. “I hope this is okay,” Twyla said, “Stevie thought you might want help narrowing down your options.

“It’s fine,” David assured her, “My meeting at Ray’s was a total failure.” He dropped a kiss on her cheek as he came to join them. “You look nice.”

“Okay, rude,” Stevie said, kicking him lightly with her foot, “just for that, I’m not going to show you the listing we found.” David rolled his eyes as he picked up a brush and began to section Twyla’s hair.

“You look very pretty, Stevie,” Twyla said, eyes slipping closed as David began to braid her hair. Stevie blushed.

“Uh, Thanks,” Stevie said, fidgeting with the ends of her hair.

“All done,” David said, squeezing her shoulders before hopping off the bed. Her hair wound up in a half up, half down style, with a few braids leading to a bun on the back. “Here,” he said, grabbing a tote from where it was hanging on the back of a chair, “I got something for you.” He pulled the little bag of jewelry out and handed it to Tywla. He turned to Stevie, “You’re still welcome to wear one of my sweaters tonight, if you want, but I found this while I was out with Twyla and it reminded me of you.” He practically threw the flannel at Stevie before stepping back and fiddling with his rings. 

“David!” Twyla gasped, running her fingers over the twisted metal, “Thank you.” She stood up and pulled him into a tight hug. “This means a lot,” she said quietly, “You’re a good one, David Rose.” David made eye contact with Stevie over Twyla’s shoulder. 

“If you hate it we can burn it in a fire,” he said, shifting so he was resting an arm across Twyla’s shoulder more casually. 

“I don’t hate it,” Stevie said, slipping her arms through the sleeves. “This seems like very conveniently timed bribery for that apartment listing, though,” Stevie said, narrowing her eyes.

“Does it though?” David said, “because I already had the gifts, so.”

Stevie rolled her eyes before handing him a sheet of paper, “Oh my god, just take it already.” Twyla laughed at their antics while she put on her shoes. Stevie gathered the six packs they were bringing. David didn’t understand why he was required to pick up separate, individual beers if Mutt was already bringing multiple kegs, but he trusted Stevie’s expertees. “So?” she asked, “what do you think?” David glanced up at her and then back down at the paper.

“It has a certain charm,” he said. It really was perfect. He wouldn’t have selected a studio himself, but it was large enough that it wouldn’t feel cramped if he had people over. The mix of exposed brick and clean white walls made the space look warm, but polished. Two big windows took up almost the entirety of the street facing wall, letting in plenty of light. There was a glass door off to one side leading out to a patio which sat on the roof of the floor below. The appliances left much to be desired, but the bathroom was large enough that he could remodel. 

“The rent is kind of high,” Twyla said, “but Stevie was pretty sure it was within your budget.” David tried not to let the surprise show on his face; his last apartment had been triple this rate. He had enough money that his children’s children could live comfortably. “It’s technically part of the general store,” She continued, “but they’re going out of business. Rumor is that Christmas World is trying to buy them out. I think this is their last ditch attempt to stay afloat.” 

“‘I was sold right up until ‘General Store’,” David grimaced; who knew what kind of hellish health codes they had broken. 

“Fuck off, I saw your face,” Stevie said, rolling her eyes, “You know you love it.”

“Mmm,” David said, “A bold claim.” But she was right; he would call Patrick tomorrow to get the paperwork started. Twyla’s phone buzzed.

“Mutt’s here,” She said, grabbing her purse and heading out the door. Stevie and David followed, locking up behind them.

David was arguing with Ted over whether pizza was a salad or a sandwich when Stevie shoved something into his hand.

“Hold this,” she said. David had been complaining about the alcohol selection and this was her response. “Put your thumb right here,” Stevie cracked open a beer and dumped it into the funnel. “Okay, now put it in your mouth,” she said. 

“Huh?” David asked distractedly, just now realizing what he was holding half in his mouth.

“And get on your knees cuz you’re tall,” Stevie grinned, lightly pushing down on his shoulder, “just open up your throat.”

“Kinky,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows and lowering himself to the ground. Ted and Mutt laughed, most of the surrounding crowd began to chant for him to chug. David Rose was kneeling in a dirty field in designer jeans, guzzling beer like a frat boy, and he had never been happier. 

Of course, that meant something had to go wrong. 

“David,” Twyla tapped on his shoulder where he sat with some townie who was trying to explain the merits of a monthly peanut butter subscription service.

“Hey,” he turned to face her, noting the runny mascara, “What happened?” She shrugged and stepped into his arms. “Give us a minute,” he said glaring at the guy he had been talking to; the townie rightly fucked off.

“I, um, wrote Mutt this song about how much I love him, but Alexis said I should probably ask him first because it would be super embarrassing if he didn’t like it-”

“Okay, well, taking advice from Alexis is always incorrect,” David said, rubbing her back in an attempt to be comforting.

Twyla took a shaky breath, “No, she was right. It was good advice. I mean, Mutt liked the song, but he broke up with me. I guess he has feelings for this girl he’s been doing community service work with, Tennessee, and he didn’t know how to tell me.” 

“What do you need?” David asked, mind racing as he thought of all the crazy things he had done for Alexis.

Twyla laughed bitterly, “I’ll be okay, I just needed someone to talk to.” David’s chest warmed; his presence alone had never been enough for someone before. People always wanted something from him. “Okay, let's get a drink,” Twyla said, wiping her eyes, “This is a party after all.” Of course Twyla underestimated her friends. 

Stevie knew something had happened the moment she saw them, so Twyla retold the whole ordeal to her and Ted. Then, Stevie pulled out a joint she had found under the bed in room 2. Soon, the four of them were huddled around a bonfire trading stories and laughing.

“I’m going to miss you,” David mumbled into Ted’s shoulder as they parted ways on the walk home. “Thank you for treating my panic attack even though I am not a dog.” 

“You’re welcome, David,” Ted mumbled. “But I’m only going to be gone for a few months.” He stepped back, holding David by the shoulders. “Take care of yourself, okay?” 

David tried to nod and his head rolled up and down like a bobble head. Ted giggled and started walking away; he waved with big exaggerated motions until he rounded the corner. By some miracle David made it back to his room. He cleared the papers off his bed, setting them in a messy pile in the table. He eyed Patricks card where it sat propped up against the vase. He should call Patrick. He typed in the number.

“Hi David, it's Patrick. I um-was just calling to run my thought process, by you in a little more detail. So feel free to give me a call back, and I will be happy to walk you through it. Okay, ciao, ” David said, face contorting in horror as his closing words caught up to him. “Ciao! I said ciao to that person.”

He dialed again, “Hi Patrick, Yeah, I think I, I think I called you David. Which that's not, that's not your name. You can just delete that text, the, the voice-mail that I left you. Um, just thought it might be a good idea to give you some background information about … the, the apartment. It's the one above the General Store. Um, that is if the General Store, doesn’t-doesn’t fail or get bought out by Christmas-oh.” His phone buzzed in his hand. “Sorry, I just got a text. Oh God! Yeah, the text cut us off.”

“Hey, um, me again, Patrick. I mean, Patrick, who you are, is the one I am calling… and saying hi to. I, uh, I’m David, hi.David Rose, but you know that. Uh, how did you know that? I guess maybe Ray told you. Oh! Windows. The apartment has really lovely windows. My apartment in New York had really terrible windows and it never, um … got enough light. That’s not right, it was a very bright apartment, all the walls were very white -” His phone beeped. David had recorded for the allotted time. He hung up and called back.

“So I think the machine cut me off? Oh! It’s me, David again,” He squinted at the screen, holding it away to make sure it was recording. His thumb slipped, hanging up the call. David wiggled off his jeans and sweater, climbing into bed. 

“I think I hung up on accident last time, whoops,” David paused to laugh, it was very funny. He stopped, “Patrick, I’m tired.” He hung up. He opened his eyes. He had been telling Patrick about the walls.

“There are white walls in this apartment too,” David said, “too, also? There are lots of bricks, like the ones on the outside. And the windows bring the light in to the apartment from the outside too, which, which is very important for the environment. My environment, the one I am trying to create now that I live here. I don’t know if it’s good for the outside environment. Here, let me check.”

“Patrick?” David whispered, “The internet said windows are fine for the environment. I just thought you should know, um, I might be asleep already, but goodnight Patrick.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Your kudos and comments make my day!  
> ❤️ Sunset


	5. Put my Faith in This Hole in The Ground

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter: Patrick, Stevie, and Twyla help David move, Patrick comes to an important realization, and David invests in his town.  
> Next Chapter: Patrick discovers a problem with the Roses' taxes, David takes Patrick out for his birthday, and Patrick gains some sexual experience of his own.

“Hi, I’m here to fill out the rental application,” David said, drawing Patrick’s attention away from his conversation with Ray. Patrick grinned when he thought of the rambling, sleepy messages he had gotten from David yesterday. David paused when he saw the expression on Patrick's face. “What?”

“Nothing, I'm just uh, I'm so glad you made such good use of my business card,” Patrick grinned, moving towards his desk. He had been hoping maybe David would call with a question about utilities or square footage. Instead, he got a charming dissertation on the light of the windows. “ I'm sorry I didn't pick up, I was at a thing.” He wondered what else David would’ve said if he had.

“Well, best you didn't,” David said, fiddling with his rings. Patrick watched them shift, light catching on the silver bands. He hadn’t known many men who wore jewelry the way David did; it was a little mesmerizing. Patrick felt something in him stir and he struggled to identify the feeling.

“But I got all your messages,” Patrick continued, trying to redirect his train of thoughts back to the conversation.

“Ah, um, and just listened to the first one, and then erased the rest?” David asked.

“No, no, no, no,” Patrick chuckled, remembering the way he had stopped breathing for a moment when he first realized what they were. The snarky quick-witted man he had met had already proven himself to be deeply charming, but the disjointed, passionate messages had been another facet of his personality entirely.

“No?” David asked.

“No, I listened to all of them, I kinda had to, to piece them together,” Patrick said, trying to draw more of that playfully argumentative energy from David, “Actually, I played them for a few friends of mine, I was at a birthday party, so there were a lot of people weighing in.” 

“Okay, um…” David trailed off.

“Just kidding, I didn't play them for anybody. I thought the first few were very humorous, David, and then I lost interest,” Patrick said when he realized David was genuinely embarrassed. He moved towards the desk, “I may have played them here on speaker phone.”   
“Okay,” David said, following him, “Can I just get the paperwork, and then I can-”

“You know, the good thing about the messages was that I was able to get enough information to piece together which property you were interested in. I got a head start on the forms, you’ll just need to fill in your personal information.” He turned his laptop toward David.

“Oh,” David said, “I wish I could remember.” He filled in the personal information fields and handed it back to Patrick.

“Okay, sent. I’ll call you when I hear something,” Patrick said, grinning, he couldn’t help but add, “And hey, if I don't get a hold of you, I'll just uh, leave a message.” 

“Okay, thanks,” David said, ducking out the door.

“Ciao!” Patrick said. He called David two days later; the city had accepted his application. The general store very likely wouldn’t be able to afford to keep the space for much longer, even with David’s contribution lowering their rent some. Still, he was happy that David had found an apartment he liked. He was hoping to see David around town, but he hadn’t expected to hear from him again.

“Hello?” Patrick said, picking up when David called him a few days later. 

“Hey,” he said, “It’s me, David-”

Patrick laughed, he had put David’s number in his phone after the voicemail incident, not wanting to miss another call from high David, “Oh, I know. I have your number saved.”

“Right,” David said, taking a breath, “Well, I picked up the keys from city hall this morning.” There was some jostling and speaking in the background for a moment. “If you don’t already have plans tomorrow night, I wanted to invite you over for dinner.”

“That would be nice, David,” Patrick said, he had been afraid that he wouldn’t be able to make friends here. He had lived in the same town his whole childhood, even when he went off to college Rachel and a handful of their friends had been with him. Now, he didn’t know if he could ever face them. Most of them had been Rachels’ friends first and were only his by association. “Thank you.” 

“Ow, fuck off, Stevie,” David laughed at something on the other end of the line. “Stevie said I should tell you that dinner means pizza and beer, because that was her price for helping me move. Also, I don’t actually have a table or chairs, so we’ll have to eat on the floor.” 

“That sounds great,” Patrick said. Ray had already given him the day off, but he knew he would spend it anxious, waiting to see David, “I have tomorrow off, if you need help moving. I wouldn’t want to take advantage of your hospitality.” 

“Well, fortunately I’m a very generous person,” David said, “but, yeah, we could use an extra set of hands if you’re offering.” David sent him the time and the address of the motel. 

“See you tomorrow, David,” Patrick said, hanging up with a smile on his face.

He arrived at the motel just in time to watch David struggle to haul open the door and keep hold on the box he was carrying. He dropped in the back of his SUV with an exaggerated sigh. “I can see I got here at the right time,” Patrick said. It was nearly ninety degrees and David was wearing a fuzzy black sweater and jeans with a skirt over the top. Patrick had thrown on an old hockey t-shirt and a pair of Levis and he was already sweating.

"Okay, rude," David said, "I'll have you know that was a very unevenly weighted box." 

"Right," Patrick said, following David back into the motel.

"Okay, so if you wouldn't mind starting with these boxes over here, that would be great," David said, gesturing at the wall of cardboard boxes in the honeymoon suite. It was simultaneously the worst and best thing Patrick had ever seen. 

“Wow, that’s quite a headboard, David,” Patrick said, heaving a box into his arms. “Are you sure you don’t want to base your style on this?” He asked, echoing David’s words. He turned to walk out towards the parking lot. “It does seem like a specific environment and I know that was very important to you.”

“For the record, I specifically did not choose that room. It is used exclusively for storage purposes,” David said, sliding his own box into his car. Patrick delighted in watching him get worked up from the slight provocation, “And anyone with a fiber of common sense would know that, this,” he gestured to the space around them, "should not be the decor inspiration for any space, let alone a home."

“So you saw the honeymoon suite, huh?” A woman asked, emerging from David’s room with a box of her own. “Yeah, I really don’t encourage guests to check in there.”

“Okay, but you specifically offered it to me?” David asked, hand on his hip.

“Exactly,” She said, shoving her box in the back of David’s SUV.

“Stevie, right?” Patrick asked.

“Yeah,” Stevie said, bringing her hand up to shield her eyes from the sun.

“I'm Patrick,” he said, “I've heard a lot about you.”

“None of it is true,” Stevie said. 

“Oh well,” Patrick said, “anyone with a fiber of common sense would know that.”

“I like him,” Stevie said to David. She turned to Patrick, “I like you.” He liked her too. Twyla, a server he’d met a few times at the cafe, walked out of David’s room, wheeling a suitcase behind her.

“Okay, is this how this is gonna go?” David asked, gesturing between him and Stevie, “because we have way too much work to do today for me to feel attacked by way of an imbalanced social dynamic.” David turned to Twyla, “They just met and they’re already ganging up on me.”

Twyla laughed, “Oh, hi, Patrick.” She squeezed David’s arm as she walked past, “I’m sure you’ll recover, David.” She pushed the door to his SUV closed. Patrick wondered if they were together; they looked very comfortable together. “Okay, that’s the last of it from your room.” They fit the rest of the boxes in Patrick's car and drove over to David’s apartment. 

By the time they had carried David’s things up the stairs, they were all sweaty and exhausted. Stevie had taken off her flannel and David had had to ditch both his sweater and skirt overlay. Twyla slumped against the wall and slid to the floor. Patrick leaned against David’s kitchen island, not sure where he would be welcome. Stevie broke out the beers, the only thing in David’s fridge. 

“I’m using your shower,” Stevie said, tossing one to Patrick. Maybe she and David were together. She seemed comfortable enough grabbing things from his fridge and using his shower without asking.

“Save some water for the rest of us,” David called from where he lay starfished on the floor near Twyla.

“David,” Twyla said, poking his side with her toe, “are you going to order pizza or should I?” David groaned, but picked up his phone to order. Twyla opened their beers and passed one to David.

“Patrick,” David called from his position on the floor, “What do you get on your pizza?”

“I’m good with whatever,” Patrick said with a shrug. He usually just ate whatever Rachel was in the mood for.

“Okay, but what do you like?” David asked, sitting up. He took a swing of his beer, “Pizza is a very personal experience.”

Twyla laughed, “He also wants to know what you order, so he can tell you if it’s incorrect.”

David turned to look at her, “Because they are!” She grinned, taking a sip of her beer. He turned back to Patrick, “Twyla gets green olive and mushroom, which is almost worse than Stevie’s hawaiian. Pineapple doesn’t belong on pizza, Patrick.”

“You want to say that to my face, David?" Stevie asked from the doorway. She had replaced her clothes from earlier with one of David’s sweaters and a pair of his sweatpants. She moved to sit on the kitchen island next to Patrick, handing him a fresh beer. "I have hostages," she said, gesturing at her clothes with the bottle. 

Twyla grinned and patted David on the shoulder, before getting up to take her turn in the bathroom. "You better get her an extra order of cheese bread." David rolled his eyes, typing the order into his phone and Patrick forgot all about the topping discussion until the pizza came. 

"Holy shit," Patrick said when he walked out of the bathroom. Stevie, Twyla, and David had all taken their turn rinsing off in the bathroom before he felt comfortable enough to. While he was gone they had found and unrolled David’s fluffy area rug and gotten into the boxes of blankets and throw pillows. They sat in a loose circle on the floor, in various combinations of David’s sweater and lounge pants. David was laughing and gesturing rudely at Twyla while she tried to take a picture to send to his sister. They reminded Patrick of a flock of birds in a strange, plush nest. He felt the impossibly soft sleeve of David’s sweater brush his palm. He hadn’t been planning to borrow David’s clothes, but the man had handed him a stack of them when he got up to use the bathroom.

“You don’t have to wear them if it makes you uncomfortable,” David said, “But Stevie started stealing my clothes in exchange for storage space, and then Twyla borrowed some when she slept over, and now it’s kind of become a thing.” David glanced away, “Plus the sweater is Neil Barrett, so.” Patrick took the clothes. What had drawn such a reaction from him, though, was the mountain of pizza boxes off to the side of the rug. There were at least a dozen.

“Oh,” David said, “yeah, well, you wouldn’t tell me what you liked, so I just got a variety.” Patrick grabbed another beer, pleasant buzz making its way through him.

“Come sit, Patrick,” Twyla called, patting the floor in front of her, “We’re trying to find the worst slice.”

“Twyla is trying to figure out the worst slice,” Stevie corrected, “David won’t even touch the anchovy.” Most of the pizzas had different topping combinations on each side, Patrick noticed.

“Ew, Stevie,” David said reflexively, shoveling a slice of pepperoni in his mouth like he hadn’t eaten in days. Patrick came to sit between David and Stevie, Twyla across from him. Twyla and Stevie appeared to be creating some sort of ranking system with an empty box and half eaten slices. 

“Here,” David said. He pulled a square piece from the box closest to him, “banana peppers and black olives, try.” David held the pizza towards him and instead of reaching out for it, Patrick leaned down and took a bite. It was surprisingly good. He went back for another, lip brushing David’s thumb. David made a small choking sound, which he covered by taking a drink. Patrick grinned, leaning in to take the remainder of the pizza from David’s hand. David shivered as Patrick’s tongue brushed his palm. Patrick was pretty sure he was gay; his dick felt pretty gay at the moment. 

“I think I’m gay,” He said suddenly, words slipping out, instead of the dozens of carefully considered conversations he’d rehearsed in his head. A wave of relief washed over him.

“Same,” Stevie said and Patrick saw her glance fervently at Twyla. To her credit, Twyla hadn’t appeared to notice and was smiling encouragingly at Patrick.

“Um, that’s the first time I’ve said that out loud before,” Patrick admitted. It had felt good when he first said it, but now he felt like he might throw up. His stomach rolled.

“Cool,” Stevie said, giving him a thumbs up, before tipping over so she was laying half in Twyla’s lap. Twyla’s hands came up to play with her hair. Patrick let out a breath; something inside him unraveled.

“Eloquent, Stevie,” David said, he turned to look at Patrick. “Thank you for sharing that with us.” He reached over and squeezed Patrick’s shoulder. Patrick felt the warmth of David's hand through his sweater. He wanted it back; he wanted David to touch him. 

“David drinks all of the wines,” Stevie said when neither of them spoke. 

“That’s David’s to share, Stevie,” Twyla said, shushing her quietly. 

“He’s a cabernet though,” Stevie whispered, rolling so Twyla’s stomach muffled her laughter. Twyla smoothed a hand over her hair.

“Yeah, uh, not to perpetuate the nessitacion of reciprocity,” David said, he glanced at Twyla and she nodded, “but Twyla and I are also queer.” Patrick knew his smile must be embarrassingly large, but that filled him with a strange sort of joy. 

“Go team,” Stevie said, climbing to her feet. “I should grab a water.”

Laughter bubbled out of him, he turned and pulled David into a hug. He could tell the motion had surprised David. He stiffened in Patrick’s arms, before relaxing into them, big hands coming up to rub circles on Patrick’s back. 

“Thank you David,” Patrick said, face slightly smooshed in the crook of his neck. “I was scared I was never going to be able to say that,” Patrick felt suddenly, inexplicably like crying, “ I waited so long.” 

“Hey,” David said gently. “It’s a very personal thing, something you should only do on your own terms.” David pulled back from the hug, but kept hold of one of Patrick's hands. 

“There’s no right or wrong time to come out, Patrick,” Twyla said, “We all figure things out in our own time.” 

“Exactly,” David said.“Which is why I brought a couple home in college and told my parents to deal with it.” Patrick laughed, feeling lighter.

* * *

“Stevie?” David asked, holding up the trash from dinner. “Will you take this out with me?” She shot him a suspicious look. She and Patrick were currently trying to jenga the leftover pizza into his fridge, but Twyla was just lying on her stomach, scrolling her phone.

“Sure,” She said slowly, toeing on her shoes. She grabbed the stack of empty pizza boxes and followed him to the trash out back. David didn’t speak until they had thrown everything away and were back at the door on the side of the building. He sat on the concrete stoop and she lowered herself down next to him.

“My dad gives really terrible gifts,” David said, seemingly out of the blue. “Like one year he gave me an actual tennis court.”

“Okay?” Stevie asked. She bumped their shoulders together, “Where are you going with this, David?”

“I told you I would stay,” he said, “and then I moved out-”

“David, it’s a ten minute walk,” Stevie said.

David sighed, “I know, but I’ve never felt like I belonged anywhere before. And I really, really didn’t expect to feel that here, but Schitt’s Creek feels like home, the motel,” He turned to look at her. “You’re my family, Stevie.”

“Oh my god, David,” Stevie said, sensing where he was going. “What did you do?” He pulled something up on his phone.

“It’s just an artist rendering, I wanted your input before they put up the sign.” She took his phone and her breath caught. “I looked into it; I own a lot of the land around the motel. I tracked down your Aunt Maureen and it turns out she had willed it to you already. I gave her a very generous offer to sell it to us early.” On David’s phone screen was a digital rendering of the Schitt’s Creek motel. Except in red sweeping letters it said Rosebud Motel.

“David,” Stevie said.

“The deed is in both of our names,” David said, “I want to be your silent partner. I want you to be able to hire help where you need it. I-”

“David,” Stevie said, bringing her hand up to cover his mouth. “Shut up.” She grinned and took her hand away. “You’re my family, too. You didn’t have to buy me a motel to prove that, dumbass.” 

David smiled, “Okay, but to be clear, it’s better than a tennis court?”

Stevie laughed, “Marginally.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn’t figure out why this one felt off until I rewrote it from Patrick’s perspective. I like it much better now; I hope you enjoyed it. I always welcome feedback. Thanks for reading!!  
> ❤️ Sunset


	6. And I'm Already all The Way Down, Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter: Patrick discovers a problem with the Roses' taxes, David takes Patrick out for his birthday, and Patrick gains some sexual experience of his own.  
> Next Chapter: Patrick sleeps over, the Roses' finally pay their taxes, and David attends an important city council meeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: explicit sex

“David,” Patrick asked, clicking through his files, “Where is your tax documentation?” 

“Uh, it should be in those little yellow files,” David said, leaning over Patrick’s shoulder to point at the icons on the screen. He was hit with the smell of Patrick’s subpar grooming products. David needed to introduce him to a better shampoo, this one was clearly full of sulfates and not suited to his hair type. The generic scents clashed horribly, but David felt a stir of attraction in spite of it all. Being this close to Patrick did something to him. Ever since he came out, David had experienced the increasing urge to grab him and kiss him senseless. 

David had been sitting on the floor french braiding Twyla’s hair that first night in his apartment when the idea behind Rose Apothecary was born. 

“Where did you get this soap?” Patrick had asked, holding up the bottle of hand soap in David’s kitchen, “The kind from the general store smells like floor cleaner.”

“That’s because it is floor cleaner,” Stevie said. She was already buried in a pile of blankets, half asleep. 

“Oh, I think that one came from that farm with all the pinwheels, Twyla?” David asked, securing the end of her hair with a tie.

“Yeah, that one’s from the Dickson farm,” Twyla said, “It’s up by Elm Grove.” Twyla had offered to take Patrick sometime, but David felt like there had to be a better alternative than a one woman welcome committee.

“What if I bought the general store,” David said, half thinking out loud, “I could re-brand products from local vendors and sell them under one label.” 

“I think that would be a really nice addition to the town,” Tywla said, moving to lay down near Stevie.

“Done the right way, it could be a very profitable business model,” Patrick said, coming to join them.

“Mmhm, and how might one achieve that exactly?” David asked, suddenly remembering he didn’t exactly have the best track record with running a business.

“I could help you put a business plan together,” Patrick offered, “I think it’s a really good idea, David.” David had accepted his offer, unwilling to make the same mistake he had with the gallery. 

He had been renting the apartment above the general store for nearly two weeks now and he’d had most of his furniture delivered and boxes unpacked. Patrick was seated at David’s desk, playing around with a spreadsheet. David had been asking questions about investing which had led Patrick to spiral somewhat and now they were going over David’s financial portfolio, examining the general state of his finances.

“I’m not seeing any tax records for the past few years, David,” Patrick said, sounding worried. “It looks like the money has been leaving your account, but I can’t find any actual tax forms or proof that it was used for tax purposes.” David watched Patrick scroll through the documents, showing him the last time they were filed correctly about five years ago.

“Oh, well, my family’s business manager, Eli, always takes care of it,” David said.

“David,” Patrick said tentatively, “I don’t think this is a mistake.”

“You think he’s been embezzling my family’s money?” David asked, a cold dread pooling in the pit of his stomach. 

“I think you should call your parents, David,” Patrick said, trying not to step on any landmines. “If only to make sure you have everything squared away with the CRA.” David squeezed Patrick’s shoulder gratefully and stepped out onto the patio to call his father. “Everything okay?” Patrick asked when he stepped back inside. David ran a hand backwards through his hair and sighed.

“Yeah, he said he would hire someone to look into Eli and get back to me,” David said. He came to lean against the desk next to Patrick. The call with his father had been strange. He had expected Johnny to be upset with him for closing the gallery and fucking of to the middle of nowhere, but he hand’t been. “I just haven’t spoken to my parents in a while,” David said. Johnny had apologized for the gallery; he’d told David he missed him. “The conversation didn’t go the way I thought it would.” David felt unsettled. His father had said that he paid for the gallery in a misguided attempt to protect him, not because he thought he would fail on his own. 

Patrick looked guilty, “Have I, have I ever told you why I came to Schitts creek?” David shook his head. “I had a fiance, before,” Patrick said, “her name was Rachel. She was my best friend. I always thought I could make it work if I just tried harder. We’d been together on and off since high school. Everyone expected me to propose and Rachel kept asking me if I was really committed to our future and so one day I just did it.” Patrick took a shuddering breath and David reached out to squeeze his shoulder. “I got all the way to the rehearsal dinner before I realized I wouldn’t be able to keep food down. I called off the wedding and I asked my parents not to contact me, because I didn’t think I could face them.” David's thumb rubbed small circles on his collarbone. "It's my birthday today and I can't bring myself to pick up the phone. I'm such a coward."

"You are not a coward," David said adamantly, running a hand down his arm before stepping away to give him some space. If he kept touching Patrick, he wouldn’t want to stop. He gave Patrick a soft smile, "Do you have any plans tonight?"

"Well, I was going to have a beer, watch a game, and cry," Patrick joked, powering down his laptop. David felt some answering ache pang inside him. 

"Mmm, sounds riveting," David said. He had been wanting to ask the man out for the past few weeks and now seemed like as good a time as any, "have you ever tried the Cafe Tropical?” 

“I've heard people raving about how moderately edible the food is there,” Patrick said, quoting the phrase David used often.

“Let me take you out to dinner,” David said, hoping he didn’t sound too desperate. He didn’t want to be too much.

“That would be nice,” Patrick said, packing his laptop away, “Thank you, David. I could meet you at eight.”

“I almost didn't see you there through the mad rush of the Friday night dinner crowd,” David said, making his way over to the booth Patrick had chosen. 

“I'm just so relieved that we made a reservation,” Patrick said, smiling over his menu. David felt his heart squeeze.

“Yes. Well, You look very nice,” David said. Patrick had gone home and changed, adding a suit jacket over a fresh blue button up. A smile bloomed on his face at the compliment.

“Oh, thanks,” Patrick laughed, smoothing his hands over his lapels, “Well, you know, I assumed that the cafe would have a dinner jacket policy and I didn't wanna wear one of theirs.”

“Mhm. Well, the amazing thing about this place is that they've done such a wonderful job of editing down the menu to a very concise, world-class selection of international cuisine,” David said, unfolding the menu. It stretched across the length of the booth.

Patrick laughed, “Dare we try the deep fried mozzarella stick platter?”

“Mmm,” David said, “They do a lovely wine pairing with that.” They did not, but David hadn’t had decent wine since he moved to Schitts Creek.

“Hi guys,” Twyla said, appearing at David’s shoulder. “What can I get you?” They placed their order and soon Twyla returned with their mozzarella sticks. They did a little cheers. Twyla had really undersolded the job she had done scraping away the freezer burn; David could barely taste it.

“I’m just going to use the restroom quickly,” David said, seeing Twyla head towards the back. “I’ll be right back.” He couldn’t resist squeezing Patricks shoulder on the way out. “Hey, Twyla,” David whispered, popping his head in the kitchen. She was grabbing a plate from George to add to a serving tray. “Oh, hi, George, it’s Patrick’s birthday and while surprise parties are tacky, I think Patrick would really like it if you could do one of those little deserts with a candle in it.”

“No problem, David,” George said easily. 

“It’s Patrick’s birthday?” Twyla asked, sounding a bit put out, “I wish I’d’ve known. I would’ve gotten him something.”

“I just found out a few hours ago,” David said, patting her arm reassuringly. “I don’t think it’s personal; he’s working through some things.” David returned to their table. The look Patrick gave him when he glanced up and saw David took his breath away. Patrick looked happy, if David were a braver man he'd describe the look as fond or hopeful. He didn’t want Patrick to ever stop looking at him that way.

“So, the other night Twyla mentioned that you have a sister?” Patrick asked, midway through their meal. He twirled a bite of fettuccine alfredo around his fork, “Are you close?” David made a face; he had been hoping to spare Patrick from his messy family drama.

“It’s complicated,” David said slowly, trying to think of how best to explain his family dynamics. “We’re, um, well off, obviously. My parents provided everything we could ever need, sometimes more, too much. They wanted children, but they largely delegated the actual parenting. We had nannies growing up, a whole fleet of them when we were really little. But Alexis and I were on our own a lot, and, and I was older.” Patrick turned his hand over where it was resting on the table. David reached out to take it, threading their fingers together. “I’ve always tried to look after her, but I think she resents me for it.” Patrick ran his thumb along the back of David’s knuckles, dipping in and out of the spaces between their fingers. He didn’t even seem to realize he was doing it, so focused on taking David’s story in with his clear blue eyes. 

“That’s hard, David,” Patrick said, squeezing his hand lightly, “to grow up like that.”

David let out a sharp bark of laughter, “yeah, well, that’s not how most people see it.”

“I’m not most people, David,” Patrick said, determined crease appearing between his brows. David wanted to reach out and smooth it away.

“Yeah,” David said, a little breathless, “I’m starting to see that.” He wanted to kiss Patrick, consequences be damned. He was about ready to pull him in right there in the middle of the cafe. Of course, Twyla, George, and a high schooler David didn’t know the name of chose that moment to come around the corner singing happy birthday. Twyla had her hand cupped around a flickering flame. She set it on the table: a slice of chocolate cake, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and a single blue candle.

“Did you do this?” Patrick asked David, voice full of emotion.

“It's nothing," David said, letting go of Patrick’s hand to gesture defensively. 

"This is not nothing," Patrick said in that same hushed tone. He sounded like he might cry and David ached for him. “Thank you, David.”

“Well, make a wish,” David said, gesturing to the candle where it was beginning to drip wax. Patrick leaned down, and honest to god closed his eyes to blow it out. The smell of the candle, the curl of the smoke, and the expression of pure hope on Patrick's face when he opened his eyes to make direct eye contact with David would be forever etched into his mind. 

“Thank you, Twyla,” Patrick said. Tywla and the others were clapping and wishing him happy birthday somewhere off in this distance, but Patrick’s eyes stayed trained on David as a smile spread across his face. “Do you want to know what I wished for?” 

“Yes,” David thought. “It might not come true,” he said instead, “best not chance it.” Patrick grinned, eyes glinting mischievously.

“Oh, I have a pretty good feeling it will,” he said before closing his mouth around a bite of cake and letting out a soft moan. David thought he might have a stroke. Patrick sliced off another bite and held it out to David, “You should have some too.” When David reached out to grab the fork, Patrick circled it away. David raised an eyebrow, leaning in to bite the cake off the fork. The cake wasn’t bad, but his mouth was where Patrick’s had just been and that was moan worthy. Patrick watched him, a hungry look in his eyes. David wasn’t quite sure he remembered how to breathe. A smug, appreciative look filled Patrick’s face. For practicality sake, Patrick pushed the desert to the middle of the table. Watching him eat the rest of the cake was fucking torture. 

“You’re really, uh, enjoying that cake then?” David asked, when Patrick let out another low moan. His body flushed with arousal as the image of Patrick eating pizza out of his hand popped into his head.

“It was a very thoughtful gift, David,” Patrick said cheekily, “I want to be sure I thoroughly enjoy it.”

“Mmm,” David responded, eyes fixed on a line of chocolate sauce at the corner of Patrick’s mouth, “can I get that on the record?” Patrick laughed warmly, David’s heart constricting with the sound. “You’ve got something,” David gestured at his face. When Patrick failed to, David leaned across the table to wipe it away. His thumb brushed across Patrick’s lip. “There,” he said, hand still loosely cupped around Patrick’s jaw. He could feel Patrick’s breath against his thumb. “Got it,” he said, dropping his hand. Patrick’s fork fell out of his hand, startling them both as it clattered against the table.

“I’m finished eating if you are,” Patrick said quickly. 

David nodded, “Yes, definitely.” He handed a fifty and a twenty to Twyla on the way out. “Keep the change,” he said, already half out the door with Patrick. Twyla laughed and reached for her phone to update Alexis and Stevie. 

They slowed their pace some when they were greeted with the warm summer air. David walked Patrick to his car, silence heavy. Their arms brushed as they walked and David felt like a fucking teenager, warmth and arousal spreading through him from the contact. When they got to Patrick’s car David paused, standing before him tentatively. 

“Thank you for dinner, David,” Patrick said, hand wrapped around his door handle. “I had a really good time tonight.” David nodded in response.

“Me too, Patrick,” he said, trying to gauge whether Patrick would welcome his advances. It seemed like he had been flirting at dinner. Especially towards the end there, but David had been wrong before. He really didn’t want to be wrong with Patrick.

“Goodnight, David,” Patrick said, starting to open his car door after David had been quiet for a moment. David had turned and gotten as far as one step when he decided, fuck it.

“Patrick, wait,” he called, turning around. He grabbed Patrick by the back of his neck and the small of his back, dragging him into a kiss. Patrick kissed him back, hard and desperate. David nudged him, pulling back slightly to turn the kiss into something softer before lifting his head completely. 

“Thank you,” Patrick said, reaching for David’s hands.

“For what?” David asked.

“Uh, well, you know I've never done that before with a guy,” Patrick said and David squeezed his hands in reassurance.

“Okay,” David said, encouraging Patrick to continue.

“Yeah. And uh,” Patrick laughed, nervous hand running backward through his hair, “I was getting a little scared that I was going to leave here without us having done that. So uh, thank you for, um, making that happen for us.”

“Well, um, fortunately, I'm a very generous person,” David said, pulling Patrick back into a kiss. “Come upstairs with me?” He murmured against Patrick’s lips.

Patrick looked nervous, “I know you have a lot of experience David, but I might need to take things slow.”

“We don’t have to do anything you’re not ready for,” David said, running his hands across Patrick’s shoulders and down his arms. "I understand if you want to go home."

“No,” Patrick said, determined crease reappearing between his eyebrows. “I’m ready, David, I’m so ready,” he said, chin jutting out in defiance of his own inexperience. “I just want you to know where I’m coming from. I might need some, uh, direction.” David’s eye darkened, his hand came up to cup Patrick’s jaw, tilting his head back slightly. Patrick relaxed into his hold.

“Yeah,” David said gruffly, “I can do direction.” He ran his thumb along Patrick’s cheek, before letting go to grab his hand. He tugged him along to the entrance of his apartment. “If you tell me to stop, I’ll stop,” David said as they walked up the stairs. “If you don’t like something, I need you to tell me.” When Patrick didn’t respond, he turned to him, “Patrick.”

“Yeah, sorry,” Patrick said, looking a little dazed as they made their way towards David’s bed. “I’ll tell you, David, but I honestly don’t think there’s anything you would do to me that I wouldn’t want.” David reached out to pull Patrick against him, tilting his head back so he could lick and suck at his neck. “David,” Patrick gasped as he felt their hardening cocks rub together. David smiled against the hollow of his throat.

“Good?” David asked, rolling his hips so Patrick got more friction. Patrick moaned in response, hands sliding under David’s sweater. David grabbed the lapels of Patricks jacket and slid it off him. Patrick was already trying to undo the buttons of his shirt. He managed to wrestle it and undershirt off, a light flush spread across his pale chest. David guided Patrick so he was seated on the bed, pulling his own sweater over his head.

Patrick’s gaze was stuck on David’s chest, he lifted his hand like he wanted to touch, but couldn’t figure out how to get there. David crawled up on the bed so that he was straddling him. He took Patrick’s hand, placing it in the center of his chest. “It’s okay, touch me, Patrick,” he said, bending down to take Patrick’s nipple in his mouth. Patrick whined, hips canting off the bed. His hands explored David’s chest hair, the pads of his fingers running all along David’s body. David moved back to plant hot, open mouth kisses on the side of his neck, giving Patrick space to explore. Patrick slid his hand through the thick line of hair leading to David’s cock. David moaned as Patrick’s hand closed over his erection. 

Patrick tugged at his waistband, “Take these off?” David practically threw himself off the bed in an effort to get his pants off. Patrick watched him with hooded eyes, unfastening his own pants and shoving them down. He kicked them to the end of the bed. David crawled back on to the bed, lying on his side so he was facing Patrick. His hard cock slid against David’s leg as he kissed him. Patrick whined when he felt the sensation of David’s firm and hairy thighs rub against him. David grabbed lube out of the side table, coating his own cock. He fucked his fist, reaching out to grab the back of Patrick’s neck with his other hand. Patrick leaned in to kiss David, hungry and urgent. 

“Patrick?” David asked, “do you want me to touch your cock?” Patrick nodded, gasping when David wrapped his big hand around both of their cocks. He jacked them together, cool metal rings sliding along the overheated flesh. Patrick buried his face in the crook of David’s neck. He had never felt so turned on in all his life and David had barely touched him. Patrick clung to David, nails scratching desperate lines down David’s back as he fucked up into his hand.

“David, I’m going to come way too soon if you keep doing that,” Patrick said. He moaned when David squeezed his dick and slowed his strokes. He placed a chaste kiss on the side of Patrick’s head.

“I’m close, too,” David said, “you feel so good.” He nuzzled his nose against Patrick’s ear. “Do you want me to stop?” David asked, hot breath on Patrick’s neck, his free hand playing with the hairs at the base of his skull. He kissed Patrick’s neck, sucking on a spot over his jugular that made him moan. 

“Don’t stop,” Patrick said, hips jumping as they fucked David’s hand, “fuck, David, you feel good too, make me feel so good.” Patrick as David’s hand resumed his tight, quick stokes. His thighs shook and he clutched at David’s arms. His scratch long lines down David’s back, so close to the edge. David reached his other hand down to roll Patrick’s balls in his hand, tugging lightly. With a few more strokes Patrick was coming in David’s hand with uneven thrusts. He cried out, biting lightly against David’s shoulder to muffle the sound. David draped his free arm around Patrick’s shoulder, tugging him close even as he let go of Patrick's cock to jerk himself off. Patrick felt David come against his stomach, face buried in his hair. David shifted, moving down so he could kiss Patrick properly. They lay there with their foreheads pressed together, David’s big, warm hand rubbing slow circles on his back.

“Happy Birthday, Patrick,” David said, kissing his cheek as Patrick’s eyes drifted closed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi loves, hope you enjoyed. Your kudos and comments mean so much to me.  
> ❤️ Sunset


	7. How do You Operate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter: Patrick sleeps over, the Roses' finally pay their taxes, and David attends an important city council meeting.  
> Next Chapter: David and Patrick celebrate some good news, Stevie, David and Patrick work on opening Rose Apothecary, and Alexis calls from the Galapagos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: explicit sex

“So that was-” Patrick had started to say.

“Regrets?” David asked at the same time. He pulled away slightly in anticipation of rejection or latent gay panic or any number of things his past partners had said immediately after having sex with him.

“What?” Patrick said, “David, no.” He took David’s face in his hands and the nervous anticipation in David’s stomach burned away as Patrick kissed him. David grimaced, their cum was starting cool and dry against his skin.

“Take a bath with me?” David asked, climbing out of bed and heading towards the bathroom. The remodel was going slower than he was used to, Ronnie being the only one working on it. She was worth every penny, though. Her work was solid and she was endlessly patient with his very specific vision. 

“This is really coming along here, David,” Patrick said from where he was leaning against the counter. 

“Oh, thanks,” David said. There was still a stack of wall tiles and new fixtures in the corner, but one of the first things they had installed was the large clawfoot tub. He poured the dried rose and lavender bath scents he had found on the Wilson farm into the water. David settled against the back of the bath, opening his arms for Patrick. Patrick stepped into the water, allowing David to guide him to lay back against his chest. 

“This is nice,” Patrick said, body going lax in David’s arms. He reached out to catch a floating rose petal, rolling it absentmindedly between his fingers.

“Mmm,” David said, “it is.” He rubbed a soapy washcloth across Patrick’s chest and down his stomach. He cleaned the cum from Patrick cock and thighs.

“You know, when you kissed me, that, that felt like my first time,” Patrick said, dropping his hand to run along David’s thigh. “All the things that you're supposed to feel, I-I felt them with you.” David wrapped an arm around Patrick’s chest, face nuzzled into the side of his hair.

“Well, if we're being honest with each other, this is sort of like my first time, too,” David said, placing a chaste kiss on Patrick’s shoulder. “I mean it's not, I've slept with like a thousand people, but nobody that I cared about or respected or thought was nice. So in a way, it's like we're both starting something new.”

“Thank you, David,” Patrick said. He twisted to look up at David, “And hey, for the record, I also respect you and think that you're a good person.”

“Hmm,” David said, “It's just I said nice person.”

“I know,” Patrick laughed, before shifting so he could kiss David.

“Oh,” David said, pulling away slightly, “I just need you to say nice person.”

“You're a good person,” Patrick said, eyes laughing, hand dripping suds in a line down David’s neck.

“That's not nice,” David said, smiling as he kissed Patrick back. David felt Patrick’s hardening cock brush against his thigh as he twisted. David slid his hand down Patrick’s chest, grabbing his dick in a loose hold. “What some help with this?” He asked, squeezing lightly to emphasize his words.

“But you’re not-” Patrick trailed off. He could feel David’s soft cock where he was leaning back against him.

“I probably won’t get hard again tonight,” David said easily. He kissed the corner of Patrick’s jaw. “I want to make you feel good, can I?” 

“Yeah,” Patrick said, cock twitching in David’s hand at the thought. Usually it was a struggle to get hard, stay hard, or come at all. He’d never come more than once with a partner before. “Please, David,” Patrick whined as David tightened his grip, pumping him with leisurely strokes. His other arm was wrapped around Patrick’s chest, pinching and rolling his nipples. Patrick moaned, hips jerking up into David's fist. David’s head was tucked against Patricks, breath hot on his throat, already wet from the bath. David sucked on the delicate skin there. “Ah, more, David,” Patrick moaned, rolling his hips as he felt his orgasm approaching. The hand on Patricks cock tightened as David increased his strokes. Patrick’s hands scrabbled for David’s face, twisting and tugging until he was kissing him with a hard, desperate energy. Patrick’s hips bucked as he came in David’s hand for the second time that night. Patrick curled on his side, burying his face in David’s neck.

“Patrick,” David said, running his hands along Patrick’s back, down his shoulders, over the curve of his hip and back up. Patrick lifted his head. He had tears in his eyes, but he was smiling.

“I’m really, really gay, David,” he said, wrapping his arms around David’s chest. David hummed in agreement, holding him as he processed the events of the night. They lay in the bath until it started to get cold. David followed Patrick back to bed, crawled in behind him and turned out the light.

“Good morning,” Patrick said. Sunlight and the scent of coffee assaulted David’s senses. 

“No,” David grumbled, turning to shove his face in his pillow. It was only then that he realized there usually wasn’t coffee when he woke up. David dragged himself to a seated position. “Patrick,” he managed to say, before bringing the coffee to his face and inhaling half of it in one go. Patrick’s warm laughter met his ears.

“Not a morning person, then, David?” he asked, sitting in front of David on the edge of the bed. He looked as though he had been awake a while, already dressed in the undershirt and jeans he had been wearing last night. 

“I prefer not to start my day until 10am at the very earliest,” David said, finishing the rest of the coffee. Patrick grinned, eye darting up to David’s hair. “Oh my god,” David said, hand flying up to feel it. It was currently sticking up in a very unattractive way. “My sincerest condolences that you had to see this,” David said, ineffectively trying to fix it in the reflection of his phone. “I usually don’t usually let people see me in this state unless they are very, very drunk. Or I am. Or both.”

“David,” Patrick laughed, bringing his hands up to cup David’s face. “I’ve been looking at you all morning. You don’t need to fix anything.” Patrick leaned in to kiss him. David allowed it, but pulled away before it could get too deep.

“Kissing with morning breath is incorrect,” David said, squeezing his shoulders before moving to the bathroom to make himself slightly more presentable.

“I’ll be sure to make a note of that,” Patrick called across the apartment. “How do you want your eggs?”

“I have eggs?” David asked, poking his head out of the bathroom, toothbrush hanging out of the side of his mouth.

“You didn’t,” Patrick said, smiling at the picture David made leaning against the doorway. “I had Ray drop some things off this morning.” David returned to the bathroom to finish a paired down version of his morning routine. 

“And Ray met you at the door and didn’t come anywhere near my apartment?” David asked, coming up behind Patrick to wrap his arms around his shoulders.

“Oh, no,” Patrick said, empty hand coming up to play with David’s rings, “he came in for a cup of tea. We were pretty loud, David. I’m surprised we didn’t wake you up.” 

“Okay, I know you’re not being serious,” David said, “because you wouldn’t defile my beautiful new space that way.” Patrick laughed and flipped the bacon he was cooking.

“Eggs, David,” Patrick said instead of responding. David let go so Patrick could use both hands to transfer the bacon onto a plate.

“Over easy, please,” David said. He brought the bacon to the table and put the toast in the toaster, which was about the extent of his cooking skills. He gathered his own coffee and poured 

Patrick a fresh cup of tea. David had started keeping some in the apartment as soon as he noticed Patrick preferred it to coffee. He wanted his friends to feel like they belonged here. Patrick brought the finished eggs over to the table. They ate in a comfortable silence until Patrick had to leave for work.

“Goodbye, David,” Patrick said, reluctantly pulling away from their kiss.

“Goodbye, Patrick,” David said, waiting in the threshold of his apartment until he heard the building door close. 

* * *

“So,” Stevie said, grinning the way she did when she knew something David didn’t. “Twyla said you and Patrick looked awfully cozy the other night.” He handed her the top sheet off the cart.

“Did she?” David asked, glancing away and fiddling with his rings. 

“Mmm, apparently you left in quite the hurry,” Stevie said, moving to switch the pillowcases.

“Well, maybe the food didn’t live up to its Michelin star reputation.” David handed her the corner of the comforter.

“Really? Well, Patrick must have been feeling pretty awful if he couldn’t drive himself home afterwards,” Stevie said, folding down the comforter at the top of the bed. “George said his car was in the lot all night, David. I hope it wasn’t anything serious.” 

David looked affronted, “I’ll have you know we had a very good time, but I am far too much of a gentleman to kiss and tell.”

“Oh,” Stevie said, wheeling the cart outside while David held the door open, “so there was kissing then?” David rolled his eyes, turning to walk back towards his suv; he had a meeting with the town council.

“Mmm,” he said, climbing into the driver's seat, “best wishes to you.”

“Warmest regards,” she called, waving him off from the doorway of the office. When David pulled into the lot outside of city hall, he realized he had missed a call from Johnny. He tried to call him back, but he was met with his voicemail. The low grade nervous energy which David had been carrying around the past few days thrummed back to life at the thought of what he might have to say. Not to mention, he had a very important proposal to deliver. David climbed out of his SUV, holding the business plan that Patrick had put together against his chest like a shield.

Most of the meeting was dedicated to addressing various citizen concerns. Roland seemed particularly vehement that city planning took crab apple season into account. Ronnie spent nearly twenty minutes taking Bob through why it was a bad idea for him to host the cheer teams annual car washing fundraiser. Ray then detailed the multiple new business ventures he had adopted since they last met.

“I understand you and Patrick have an idea of your own for the space previously occupied by the general store,” Ray said and all of their heads swung to David.

“Um, yes,” David said, shuffling through his paperwork to hand them the proposals he and Patrick had worked on. He cringed at the truly awful color scheme Patrick said had come with the software. “We would re-brand a variety of local products and sell them under one unified label. This would benefit local businesses by making them more accessible and the residents of Schitts Creek would in turn benefit from that accessibility. You wouldn’t need to drive all the way to the Elmdale shopping center to pick up basic household goods.”

“That sounds like a great idea, David,” Ray said, but David had already known he would support his cousin. It was Bob, Ronnie, or Roland he would have to convince to win the majority vote.

“I don’t know, Dave,” Roland sighed, “It’s Christmas!”

“I’m going to have to agree with Roland,” Bob said, making a truly disturbing expression of glee, “Who wouldn’t want a year round Christmas store.” Surprisingly, or perhaps unsurprisingly, Ronnie made the deciding vote in his favor. 

“Nah,” Ronnie said, “I’m in. I’m sick of driving all the way to Elmdale to buy toilet paper.”

“Mmm,” David said, “That will certainly be a … backroom item. Which we will sell. Toilet paper. Thank you, Ronnie.”

She clapped him on the back, “Sure thing, David.” She flagged him down in the parking lot on the way out. “I didn’t want to say back there, because I didn’t want the guys thinking that it was the only reason for my vote, but we need more queer run businesses in this town. I’m proud of what you’re building here.”

“Mmm,” David said, the corners of his eyes burning uncomfortably, “well, if you were angling for the contractor job there, you’re hired.” Ronnie squeezed his shoulder and moved to climb into her truck. David went home to look over the feedback he had received from potential vendors. Patrick was coming over in a few hours to help David put a bookshelf together. He would tell him the good news then.

David was going over a contract for yarn when Johnny finally called back. There was a CRA agent with him. Evidently, Eli had been embezzling money from dozens of his clients. In exchange for testifying against Eli and paying his taxes in full, the CRA would take no further criminal action against the Roses. David felt some of the tension he had carried since this whole mess began dissipate.

“Alright, Mister Rose, I see your signature coming through here, that should be everything I need,” the agent said. David had been required to sign a statement detailing his very minimal involvement. The rest of the Roses were having most of their accounts frozen until Johnny testified. David, having separated most of his accounts from his family, would only have his trust frozen, as that technically belonged to his parents. He did however, have to pay several years of back taxes. “Be sure to authorize the transaction with your bank.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” David said, “I’ll call them as soon as this conversation’s over.”

“Good to hear it Mister Rose, have a good rest of your evening,” the agent said, passing the phone back to Johnny.

“Son?” Johnny said, “I know you probably have something you need to get back to, but I just wanted to say thank you. If it wasn’t for you and that man of yours, I never would have noticed anything was wrong until too late. You be sure to thank him for us.” David promised that he would before saying goodbye and ending the call. True to his word, he immediately dialed the bank to authorize the payment to the CRA. Thank god for Patrick. Without him, who knows what could have happened. David shuddered at the thought.

When Patrick arrived he had an armful of flowers and a nervous smile.

“Hi,” David said, leaning forward to kiss him on the cheek. Patrick held out the flowers.

“I wasn’t sure if you would like them,” Patrick said, as he followed David up the stairs to his apartment, “Twyla thought you might.”

“Mmm,” David said, laying them on the kitchen table. “flowers are always correct, thank you Patrick.” He drew Patrick in for a long kiss. “The council approved our proposal, even if its aesthetics were terrible” David said, hands playing with the collar of Patrick’s shirt, “Provided we pass inspection, we’re getting our store.” 

Patrick’s teasing smirk made its way onto his face, “in the interest of us potentially working together I did want to come clean about something.”

“Okay,” David said, already halfway to a panic spiral. 

“I um, I actually picked out that theme,” Patrick said. 

“I see,” David said, “So thank you for making it very clear that I will be making the creative decisions for the store.” David met Patrick’s eyes, his brows raised. “Um, and I guess you can handle all the business stuff.” 

“I'm very comfortable with that,” Patrick assured him, running his hands down David’s arms.

“Okay,” David said, letting out a breath. His nerves crept back in as the gravity of the situation washed over him once more. “Um, and you do know that if we don’t pass inspection, then we won't-” 

“Oh, we’re gonna pass inspection,” Patrick said, drawing David in to kiss him soundly on the mouth. 

“Okay,” David agreed, a little dizzy in the face of Patrick’s determination.

“David,” Patrick said against his mouth. “Take off your clothes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I'm so happy to receive each and every kudos and comment.  
> ❤️ Sunset


	8. What is it Gonna Take

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter: David and Patrick celebrate some good news, Stevie, David and Patrick work on opening Rose Apothecary, and Alexis calls from the Galapagos.  
> Next Chapter: Alexis comes home and Rose Apothecary opens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: explicit sex

David pulled his sweater over his head and wriggled out of his jeans. Patrick laughed fondly as David lay them neatly over the back of a chair. His own clothes had been hastily discarded in a pile at the food of the bed. He reached up for David, one hand sliding around the back of his neck to pull him down for a kiss.

David moaned into his mouth as Patrick’s hand closed around his hard dick. He stroked him a few times, thumbing the precum already gathering at the head of his cock, before pushing him to sit on the bed. Patrick grabbed the lube out of the bedside table, climbing up to sit between David’s spread thighs. With lube in his hand, Patrick reached out to stroke David’s cock in long, slow pulls.

“Patrick,” David huffed. He knew that wasn’t nearly enough. Patrick squeezed his dick lightly, before going back to the slower strokes. 

“Patience, David,” Patrick said, bringing one lubed finger down to circle David’s hole. He pressed in, increasing the pace of his hand on David’s cock to something that was more likely to make him come. David moaned, hips bucking as Patrick thrust a few fingers inside him. Patrick stretched his hole, fingers curling to reach his prostate. David gasped when they found it. His cock drooled precum, twitching in Patrick’s hand. 

“Patrick,” he gasped, “I’m good, I’m ready.” Patrick smiled in response, switching up the motion of his fingers, so he was pressing and massaging rather than curling against David’s prostate. David let out a choked moan, spine arching of the bed. His hips bucked impatiently, thrusting himself forward into Patrick’s fist then back onto his hand. 

Patrick gave David’s cock one last stroke before letting him go and patting his hip, “hands and knees, David.” David rolled over, positioned at the edge of the bed so Patrick could stand at its foot. Patrick’s hands brushed along his hips and over his thighs. He ran a hand along David’s ass, spreading his cheeks. David felt Patrick’s lubed cock line up with his hole. He thrust in slowly, not because David needed it, but because he got off on making David wait. The fucker. David was so goddamn hard. “You feel so good,” Patrick said, running a hand down his side.

“Mmm,” David said, “I bet I would feel even better if you fucked me.” Patrick pulled almost all the way out and David whined. Before he could complain, Patrick thrust back in, hard. He let out a garbled moan as Patrick slammed into his prostate on every thrust.

“What was that, David?” Patrick asked, hand reaching out to hold David’s hip, “Is this what you wanted?” David groaned, head dropping to hang there as Patrick’s hand returned to his cock. His hands fisted in the bed sheets.

“Harder,” David gasped, “want more, Patrick.” Patrick knocked David’s arms out from under him with the force of his next thrust. The hand on David’s hip dug in hard enough that it would be pleasantly sore for a while afterward. “Yes, right there,” David said, turning his head to gasp and moan into the soft blanket that covered the end of his bed. 

“I’m close, David,” Patrick said, pumping his cock with hard quick strokes, “you going to let go for me?” David whined, hips jerking at Patrick’s words. Patrick fucked David as he began to come in his fist. He kept up the force of his thrusts as he approached his own orgasm, David whining as Patrick’s hand stroked his oversensitive cock. David clenched down around him and Patrick came with a drawn out moan. 

He eased David onto his stomach and curled up next to him. David turned his head, reaching out to pull Patrick into a long slow kiss. “Good?” He asked against David’s mouth.

“The best,” David said, thumb rubbing patterns along the corner of his jaw. Patrick relaxed into it, running his hand over David’s back in broad strokes until he was ready to get up. 

* * *

“David?” Stevie asked. There was a fleck of paint on Patrick’s cheek. “David.” and a smudge white behind his ear. “David.” His eyes followed a line of it from Patrick’s elbow to the underside of his wrist. Patrick stood on a step ladder, carefully cutting the edge of the wall where it met the ceiling. His paint shirt, which David had been genuinely horrified to discover, was worn soft where it clung to his biceps and back. “David,” Stevie poked him with the edge of the long paint roller. 

“Can I help you with something?” David asked, whirling around. He had worn a pair of Rick Owens drop crotch pants and a Valentino t-shirt, both of which were a few seasons old and therefore expendable. 

“Yes, actually,” Stevie said, rolling her eyes, “if you’re not too busy watching Patrick, I can't tell which paint is which and somebody moved the lids.” David had been insistent that the ceiling be painted Pure Dove, with the walls done in Fresh Snow. Patrick and Stevie both claimed they couldn’t see the difference; David couldn’t tell if they were fucking with him or not. The shades had very obvious undertones. 

“Pure Dove is on the left,” he said, glancing over at the canisters, before moving back to his stretch of wall. Stevie refilled her paint tray and went back to stand on her drop cloth where she was painting the ceiling near the door. 

“Are you sure, David?” Patrick asked, “Do you want to take a closer look? I would hate to paint the walls such a clearly contrasting color.” Despite demonstrating an apparent lack of understanding of the color wheel, Patrick had wholeheartedly supported every step in David’s creative process. “What do you think, Stevie?”

“We might as well paint the room eggshell,” Stevie said drolly. 

“The whole room might be a bit much,” Patrick cut in, “How do you feel about an accent wall?” The bell above the door let out a soft ding; Twyla was stopping by for dinner.

“Mmm, that would look great if we were painting a six year old's bedroom and not trying to cultivate a unifying canvas on which to showcase our products,” David said, watching the paint cover the wall in smooth, satisfying vees. 

“Obviously, Patrick, what six year old doesn’t want an eggshell colored accent wall?” Stevie asked. “Oh,” She said suddenly, “I’m sorry, we’re not open yet.” 

David turned to find someone who was definitely not Twyla standing in the doorway. He wanted to move to stand beside Stevie, but his feet hadn’t quite caught up with his brain yet. In the middle of his half painted store stood Sebastian Ranie. David felt like he might throw up. This wasn’t a part of his life he had ever thought they would have to see. 

“Sebastian,” David said, “You’re here.” He could feel Stevie and Patrick watching him, but he still couldn’t bring himself to bend his knees, let along move his feet. “How did you find me?”

“Your mother mentioned the other day at lunch,” Sebastian said, waving his hand dismissively. Of course she did. “Look at you. You’re looking very … healthy.” David grimaced. Sebastian leaned in to kiss him. David froze before stumbling directly backward, into Patrick. “Who do we have here?” Sebastian said, eyeing Patrick with the same open disdain he usually reserved for waitstaff. 

“This is my, um, Patrick,” David said, hands latching on to the shoulder of Patrick’s paint shirt. He picked at a strip of cobalt blue.

At the same time Patrick stepped forward and thrust his hand into Sebastian’s space, “Patrick.” Stevie slid an arm around David’s waist. Oh, that was nice. He hadn’t realized she was there.

“I like your sweater,” She said, biting and sarcastic. 

“You must be David’s girlfriend,” Sebastian hummed, speculative, “I’d love to Polaroid you naked one day.” David felt Stevie freeze against him. Sebastian turned back to him. “David, I'm thinking maybe I'll stay in town for the night, so I hope we can, you know, catch up.” The muscle of Patrick’s shoulder tensed, but aside from that he seemed to be taking the whole situation in stride.

“Yeah, I'm super busy these days…” David said, squeezing Patrick’s shoulder gratefully.

“Yeah, I just feel like we have unfinished business, you and I,” Sebastian said. Stevie, bless her, looked like she was about three seconds away from decking him. 

“Well, we don’t,” David said, throwing an arm around her shoulder, just in case. “so I would really appreciate it if you got the fuck out of my town.” He didn’t want Sebastian anywhere near his family. 

“I don’t see the validity of your hostility, David,” Sebastian said, he paused in the doorway. “I flew all the way out here as a favor to Moira, but I can see that you’re beyond help.”

“I’m sorry,” David said, turning to Patrick after Sebastian had left. “I know I’m damaged goods and I really don’t want that to mess this up for us.”

“David,” Patrick sighed, “ I know you’re coming into this relationship with, uh, a rich dating history, but everyone has a past. That doesn’t make you damaged goods.” 

“Plus, that guy seemed like an asshole,” Stevie said. She leaned into his side, tightening her hold on him briefly before moving to go reseal the paints. 

“Are we okay?” David asked. Patrick cupped his jaw, pulling him down into a soft kiss. The bell above the door went off again and David jumped. This time it was Twyla.

“Hey, guys,” Twyla said before noticing the weird atmosphere, “what happened?” 

David paid extra for a Thai restaurant in Elm Grove to deliver to his apartment. They locked up downstairs and got settled in David’s living room. “I’m sorry you had to go through that, David,” Twyla said, “an ex of mine roomed with my dad in prison for a few months and he found out where I lived. He kept sending me all these letters and I had to pay some guys to get word around that I had died.” Patrick unpacked the takeout on David’s coffee table, passing out their orders.

“I remember that,” Stevie said, scowling into her glass of whiskey. “That was the summer we came home from college. You and Mutt had just gotten back together.”

“What  _ was _ Stevie like in college?” David asked Twyla, flexing his toes where they were tucked under Stevie’s thigh to get her attention. She set her drink aside and twirled her fork around a noodle. 

“Pretty much the same,” Twyla said, giving Stevie a fond smile. David’s phone broke the silence, A Little Bit Alexis ringing through the apartment.

“What?” David asked, face paling as he listened to her speak. “Okay, give me a few minutes. I’ll call you back.” David hung up the phone. “That was Alexis. She’s currently hiding from a drug cartel in a storage closet in the Galapagos and all of her cards are frozen, because of the CRA.” Patrick looked stricken. Twyla pulled her phone out of her pocket, presumably to check on Alexis.

“Is she okay?” Stevie asked, taking his box of takeout so he wouldn't drop it.

“Um, yeah,” David said, “She said she just needs help actually getting off Santa Cruz since Stavros brought her there. I could get one of our jets to the airfield in Isabela, but I don’t know that I could get her there safely.”

“What about Ted?” Stevie asked. “His research center is on Santa Cruz.”

“That, that could work,” David said. David called Ted, face going on a very complicated journey before he hung up the phone. He made another round of calls to their family pilots and the other necessary aviary personal. “Apparently, Ted is more than happy to bring Alexis home, because they’ve been sleeping together for the past few months” 

“Oh, wow,” Twyla let out a laugh, “I know way too much about what Ted is like in bed.”

“Okay, ew, Twyala,” David said, face drawing up in disgust, “feel free not to share.” 

Twyla’s smile softened, “She’s going to be okay, David. He takes really good care of her.”

“I bet he does,” Stevie said under her breath. Patrick grinned, bringing his hand up to cover his mouth as he used the other to pat David’s knee.

“I’m sorry,” David said, gesturing wildly, “do you have something to add to this whole situation?”

Stevie shrugged, “I mean, he goes to the gym.” David raised an incredulous eyebrow and Twyla laughed, stealing a piece of broccoli off Stevie’s plate.

“David,” Patrick said, holding a dumpling to his mouth, “eat. Your sister is going to be alright, trust me.” David took the offering, pleasantly surprised to find that he did. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more to go. I'm so excited for Alexis to come to SC. The second fic in this series is all about her and Ted if you're interested in what they've been up to. As always, thanks for reading!!  
> ❤️ Sunset


	9. Say What You Wanna Say

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter: Stevie and Twyla share happy news, Ted hosts a dinner part, Alexis makes an important decision or two ,& David and Patrick experience some big milestones of their own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: explicit sex 
> 
> Alright, last one.  
> ❤️ Sunset

“Oh my god, David,” Alexis said from where she was perched on the counter, “he’s such a button.” She had a scarf wrapped around an amused Patrick's throat. 

“He’s also highly allergic to cats,” David said, pulling the scarf out of her hands. “Hi,” he said, kissing Patrick hello.

“Ew, David,” Alexis said, shoving his shoulder as she slid off the counter, “I’m, like right here.” 

“No one asked you to be,” David said, refolding the scarf so he could loop it over the display. “Aren’t you supposed to be in school?”

“Mmm, it’s Sunday,” Alexis said, she pulled a piece of paper out of her bag, “and I need you to sign something real quick.” David moved to sign it, but Patrick intercepted.

“Alexis,” he laughed, “this says you volunteer here.”

“I do volunteer here. Yesterday I moved like three boxes and I’ve sampled every flavor of lip balm,” She said, moving to fiddle with the small items at the cash.

“Yeah, we’re actually going to need you to stop doing that,” Patrick said. 

Alexis booped his nose, “You got it, Button.”

“Okay,” David said, signing her form, “but I reserve the right to ask you to actually complete these hours.”

“Mmm,” Alexis said, looping her arm through David’s and moving towards the door, “Of course, David. Bye, Patrick!” Apparently, she and David were meeting Twyla and Stevie for lunch at the cafe. They slid into the booth opposite of them. 

“Don’t we look cozy,” David said, glancing at their interlaced hands resting on the table. Stevie flipped him off with her other hand. “I’m hurt, Stevie.” 

Alexis smiled, “I really love this for you, Twy.” David turned to his sister.

“Did you know about this?” he asked, peeling the wrapper off his straw with agitated motions. Twyla discreetly shook her head at the waitress as she approached. 

Alexis shrugged, “ _ My  _ best friend actually tells me things, David.”

“Oh my god, she was my friend first,” David said, hand nearly knocking over the ketchup bottle as he swung it to gesture across the table. Stevie reached out to steady it.

“You already have Stevie,” Alexis said, turning to smile at their friends, “and you can’t have two best friends, obviously, David.”

“Obviously, David,” Stevie said, flicking her balled up straw wrapper at him. “Also, I kind of figured Patrick would have told you.”

“Patrick knows?” David asked, affronted.

“Mmm, or Ted,” Alexis said, nodding speculatively.

“Ted?” David mouthed at Twyla, who laughed, squeezing Stevie’s hand where it sat in hers.

“Okay, let’s give David a break,” Twyla said, reaching out to squeeze his arm. “No one else knew, we wanted to tell you two together.”

“I feel deeply betrayed,” David said, but there was no heat behind it. After that, lunch got progressively more perturbing. Twyla seemed to be under the impression that, as his friend, she could bring her family to their opening. Which he wouldn’t have minded as much if half a dozen other people hadn’t wandered up to their table asking for plus ones of their own.

“Uh how many people did you tell about Friday?” David asked, pushing through the store’s front door.

“Just the names on my pre-approved list,” Patrick said, coming around the counter to greet him. “Why?”

“Uh, because I have been approached by a lot of people who are not on the pre-approved list,” David said, handing Patrick his tea.

“Well, you know, sometimes when you tell everyone that it's exclusive, then everybody just wants in. Like how many people are we talking about?” Patrick asked, taking the tea and pressing a kiss to David’s cheek.

“Uh, I don't know. Twyla's whole family,” David said, reaching out to squeeze Patrick’s shoulders, “so, like, 75?” Patrick let out a low whistle.

“Should've ordered more food and wine,” he grinned, running his hands down David’s arms, “uh, well, looks like this soft launch is firming up a bit, huh?”

“But it's not supposed to be firm,” David said, exasperated, stepping back to pace.

“Well, with this many people it's definitely at least semi-firm,” Patrick said, covering his mouth with his tea as he laughed.

“Okay. Well, as long as it doesn't get hard,” David sighed. He immediately wanted to take the sentiment back, “and that's something, that's what I just said to you, so.” 

Patrick laughed, moving to pull David back into his arms, “People are going to come. The store is going to do well, David.” Patrick took a breath. “And I don't wanna add more stress to your day, but I love you.”

“Okay, so, so you just said that to me for the first time,” David said, “knowing that it would make my day more stressful.”

“That's correct,” Patrick said, hand cupping David’s jaw.

“Because you know that I've never said that to anyone else,” David said, searching Patrick’s face, “aside from my parents twice-” 

“and at a Mariah Carey concert, I know,” Patrick said, “And I don't expect you to say it back to me, right now, you say it when you're ready. Just felt right to me, in the moment.” He pulled David down for a kiss. “You're my Mariah Carey,” Patrick said against his mouth.

“Okay. That compliment could bring me to tears, but I'm not gonna let it,” David said. He took a deep breath and stepped away, keeping hold of Patrick’s hand, “So I would like to thank you for all the wonderful things… that you said. Come upstairs with me?”

David took his turn in the bathroom, pausing to kiss Patrick in the doorway on his way out. Since he had the time, David threw a spare blanket over the bed, set out the lube, and hung his clothes up properly. He was naked laying on his side and scrolling his phone by the time Patrick came out of the bathroom. “Hi,” David said, standing to wrap his arms around Patrick’s shoulders. “You were in there for a while.” Patrick, still in his boxers, ran his hands down David’s sides. David’s fingers played with the hair at the nape of Patrick’s neck. He had been letting it grow and it was just starting to curl.

“Yeah, David, I,” he took a breath and David waited for him to speak, “I want you to fuck me.” David hummed, a little dizzy with lust. He pulled Patrick into a deep kiss. 

“‘M gonna make it so good for you,” David said against his ear and Patrick shivered. David sucked on the sensitive skin under the corner of his jaw, moving to kiss a line down his throat. He sucked a dark hickey low on Patrick’s neck where he knew his collar would mostly cover it. Patrick whined and David felt his cock jump where it was pressed against his boxers. David moved down his chest, sucking his nipples into his mouth as he palmed Patrick’s dick through the cotton. David straightened, pulling Patrick back into a kiss while he tugged his boxers to the ground. Patrick whined in his mouth as the elastic pressed against his cock.

David moved them backwards until Patrick sat at the foot of the bed. He sunk to his knees, closing his mouth around the head of Patrick’s dick. Patrick gasped, hips jumping off the bed. David moaned around his cock as it was thrust into his mouth. He found Patrick’s hands clenched around fistfuls of blanket. David brought them to his hair. He licked a broad strip up the underside of Patrick’s cock. “You can pull my hair.” David sucked the head in his mouth, lubed hand come up to stroke the rest, “fuck my mouth.” He dragged his stubble along the inside of Patrick’s thighs. “It feels good, Patrick.” David returned to Patrick’s cock. Patrick’s hands tightened in his hair, but he seemed reluctant to actually move him further. David hummed around his cock, opening his throat and swallowing Patrick down to the root. Patrick groaned, hands tugging on David’s hair as he began to fuck slowly up into his mouth.

David grabbed the lube, spreading some on his fingers. He nudged Patrick’s thighs apart, pulling him closer to the edge of the bed so he could reach. David ran a finger around his hole, slowly pressing one lubed finger inside. Patrick’s hands tightened in his hair some, but he kept fucking David’s face. Patrick moaned, hips bucking against the new sensation. His cock stayed hard in his mouth, so he slid another finger alongside the first. He worked up to more, sucking and swallowing around Patrick’s cock until his hole was stretched enough that David wouldn’t hurt him. David pulled off his cock, and took his hand away. “How are you feeling?”

Patrick tugged David up to kiss him, “God, David. That’s, that’s really good.” David smiled against his mouth, hand dropping to stroke Patrick’s cock.

“How do you want to do this?” David asked. Patrick moved up the bed so he was lying on his back.

“I want to see you,” Patrick said as David crawled in between his legs, “is that?”

“That’s perfect, Patrick,” David said. He bent down to kiss him and snagged one of his pillows, sliding it under Patrick’s hips. “Here,” David said, guiding one of Patrick’s hands to his cock, “touch yourself for me. I want this to feel good for you.” David lubed up his own cock and held Patrick’s knees, spreading his cheeks. He lined his cock up, pushing in slowly. Patrick gasped as David entered him, hand speeding up on his own cock. David moaned as he felt Patrick clench down around him. He stilled for a moment after he was fully inside Patrick.

“Move, David,” Patrick groaned, hand on his cock loud in the quiet of the loft. David pulled part of the ways back out and began to thrust. Patrick moaned as David fucked him for the first time. David turned to kiss the bend of Patrick’s knee as he pushed his legs closer to Patrick’s chest. He was able to thrust deeper this way. Patrick gasped as David’s cock pressed against his prostate. “There, David,” he said, cock drooling precum across his stomach as he fucked his fist in time with David’s hips. 

David watched Patrick writhe and shudder, cock hard and wet with it’s own arousal. It was true, what he had told Patrick the first time he had jerked him off in this bed. He had never had sex with anyone he truly liked before. And Patrick loved him. Patrick, who lay beneath him, flush with arousal, bucking and whining as David impaled him with his cock. Of course David loved him. Patrick came suddenly, moaning David’s name and clenching down around him. David watched him rub at his softening cock, whimpering at the over sensitivity as David continued to nail his prostate with each thrust. David came inside him soon after, releasing Patrick’s thighs. He drew Patrick into a kiss as his cock let out a few last pulses of cum inside him. “I love you, so much, David” Patrick sighed as David tugged him to lay against his chest.

“Ted and Alexis invited us to dinner,” David said, tipping his head back to lean against Patrick’s shoulder. After they had cleaned up they had moved to sit on David's couch. Patrick was reading while David scrolled his phone. “Apparently, it’s mandatory.” 

Patrick laughed, “Sounds good, David.” He and Ted got along surprisingly well. “I’ll be nice to have someone else cook for a change.”

“Excuse you,” David said, “I am perfectly capable of both ordering and unpacking take out.” Patrick kissed the side of his head.

“Still not cooking David,” he said. When they arrived at Ted’s Stevie and Twyla were already seated on the couch. Alexis was catching Twyla up on one of her more precarious adventures with Klair in Scotland. While Ted was listening admittedly, with soft, fond eyes, Stevie looked as though she would rather be literally anywhere else.

“I brought wine,” David said, holding up the bottle.

“Oh, thank god,” Stevie said, jumping up to pull him and the wine into a hug. “Hi, Patrick,” she said, stepping away. It wasn’t until David went to unlace his shoes that he realized she had taken the wine with her.

Ted stood up to greet them and soon, they were seated at the table enjoying a lasagna he had ordered online from Nevada. David wouldn’t have chosen Ted for his sister, but watching them together calmed some of the perpetual nervousness he had for Alexis. Unlike literally every other man she had dated, he seemed to find her deeply annoying personality endearing. It was nice to see her with someone who loved her for who she was.

“So, uh, Stevie,” Ted said, “Alexis tells me you finally got together. How long have you two been -” He brought his hands together to imitate scissoring. Oh, straight men. David caught Twyla’s eyes across the table as she rolled them and set a hand on Stevie’s arm. 

David turned to face him, “What an elegant gesture, Ted.” Patrick nearly choked on his wine in an attempt not to laugh.

“Ew, Ted, no,” Alexis said, gesturing with her fork. “We’re not doing that, like, collectively as a society.” Stevie snorted.

“Speak for yourself,” she said quietly, shoveling a forkful of lasagna into her mouth. 

“So,” Twyla said brightly, turning to David and Patrick. “What did you two get done at the store this afternoon?” This time, Patrick actually did choke on his wine. He set the glass down, blushing. David reached out to rub his back as he took a sip of water. Stevie raised an eyebrow and David nodded subtly. She gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up.

“Ew, David,” Alexis said. She set her fork down, and picked up her glass, “Anyway, I invited you all here tonight, because I wanted you to know that I’ve decided to stay once I graduate.” Twyla lifted her glass to touch Alexis’ and then the whole table was clinking glasses.

After dinner, they moved back into the living room to play a game of couples charades. Patrick, David soon found out, was delightfully competitive. 

“The timer ran out, Stevie. That doesn’t count,” he said, glaring at Stevie as she made direct eye contact while drawing a tally mark next to her and Twyla’s names.

“Patrick,” David said quietly as Alexis got up to enact her charade. Patrick turned to look at him, familiar crease of determination between his eyes. David cupped his face in his hands, smoothing out Patrick’s brow with his thumb. “I love you,” he said, holding Patrick’s eyes. “I love everything about you, especially wherever all of this ruthless competitive energy is coming from.” Patrick grinned and pulled him in for a long, slow kiss. “Okay, now, go,” David said, shifting away and prodding him to his feet, “we’re up and we’re going to win this thing.” They were ahead by nearly five points when it was Alexis’ turn to guess. Ted took a slip of paper from the bowl. He hardly glanced at it before dropping to one knee in the middle of the room; he pulled a ring box from his pocket.

“Alexis Rose, will you marry me?” Ted asked. David watched Alexis’ face transform from shock to pure joy. She practically flew from the love seat into his arms.

“Yes,” Alexis said, pulling him to his feet to kiss him. Her eyes softened as she pulled away and looped her arms around his neck, “of course I’ll marry you, Ted.” 

“David,” Patrick said softly in his ear, “I’m really happy for your sister, but that definitely doesn’t count.” David laughed, tipping head sideways to lean against the cushion and look at Patrick. “I just need to be very clear that we won.”

“I love you,” David said, reaching out to run his thumb along Patrick's jaw, “and we absolutely won.” 

* * *

“Uh, so I was just verbally assaulted by a very off-brand customer in the _ line  _ outside,” David said as he pushed through the door of Rose Apothecary.

“Well, David, I have really underestimated you,” Patrick said, grinning as he glanced at the line of customers wrapped around the store. 

“How so?” David asked. In all the time he’d known him, Patrick hadn’t once underestimated him.

“Who knew you had so many friends?” Patrick asked, “or, uh, family members, for that matter.”

“Okay. What do we do?” David asked, gesturing to the line of people, “I for one blame Gwyneth.” 

“David, relax,” Patrick said and David felt some of his nerves dissipate, “It's going to be fine.”

“Oh my God, the lights,” David said, glancing up at the lights that sat behind the cash, “I didn't call the electrician.” Patrick turned and flipped the switch, lights clicking on. 

“I watched a lot of YouTube tutorials,” he said with a small shrug. 

“This is very impressive,” David said.

“Well, there is a good chance I didn't wire that properly,” Patrick laughed, “so that's why I also got the insurance that you forgot to get.” Of course he did. David loved him so much.

“Okay. Um, there's only so much that I can do in a day,” David said, “so, um are we ready to do this?”

“Open the doors,” Patrick said. 

“Okay,” David said, taking a breath with his hand on the lock.

“Softly,” Patrick whispered. David glanced back to see the man that he loved, behind the counter of a store they had built, in a town he could truly call home. 

“Okay,” David said. He flipped the sign and opened the door. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was really worried about writing this last chapter; I so wanted to do right by David. Originally, I was going to stretch the timeline all the way to David’s birthday, but it didn’t feel right. My David won’t be alone on his birthday. He has a found family who truly loves and supports him. Which really brought things full circle, because that’s what David has wanted all along: family, acceptance, love, belonging, to build something of his own. The opening of Rose Apothecary really embodied that for me. Thank you to everyone who stuck with it. I hope you loved it as much as I do!!  
> ❤️ Sunset


End file.
